13 Shades of Grey
by Arcada A
Summary: Updated: “So why do you have a box of earrings?” Johnny shifted Arista to support her weight as he carefully started climbing the stairs. “As opposed to a box of condoms?” Arista inquired genuinely.
1. A Bet of Sorts

13 Shades of Grey

**A Bet of Sorts**

**Disclaimer: **Beyblade, the idea of the spinny-tops, and all related indicia, belong to Takao Aomi. Amber is courtesy of Zadien, whilst I own Arista.

-----

"I am the best hockey player this school has ever had the displeasure of confining." Amber said grinning.

Her small mouth was curved into a grin, her tawny eyes dancing with laughter. Her rounded face was held high while her chin jutted out to prove her point. Her skin was a bonze colour because she was Irish and spent many a days outside. Her ebony hair had parts streaked with gold, glossy in the warm breeze outside while the sun shone down on her. She was dressed in the school's outfit, a navy tartan skirt with a white button-up shirt. Her black blazer was tied around her small waist as she walked comfortably along the school grounds. Her socks were pushed down to her ankles to be enclosed by her century old sneakers.

Arista grinned back at her, eyes glittering merrily. "Not likely, I'm much better and an all-around better person," she added for a laugh and a half.

Her face was accentuated by her peaches and cream complexion, marred by rare flecks and the shadows of her silver hair which fell over her forehead, spilled around her shoulders, ending with gold tips two inches past her shoulders. She stood a bit taller than her companion, clad in the same school outfit. Her socks were also lowered to gather at her ankles while she wore black and red skate shoes. The plaid skirt went to just below her kneecaps, the top button on her shirt undone due to the warmth of the weather. Her navy orbs were flecked with sprinkles of amber.

"Says who?" The ochre eyed teen shot back inquiringly.

"I do." The silver haired female replied in a likely arrogant fashion, mimicking her friends tone.

They exchanged looks before stopping promptly to laugh before continuing on their journey to the school doors.

"Actually, you would both be mistaken. I am the best hockey player in this pathetic excuse for a school."

The two turned around to be faced with the moss-green eyes and striking ginger hair of none other than Brooklyn Adams.

"What a pleasant surprise." Amber faked alacrity.

"Would you like to prove that?" Arista's eyebrows knitted together in annoyance.

His face was clear of any freckles, which bothered Arista to no end. He was a red-head, by law he should have freckles. It was the same with Johnny though, he was a red-head and he had no freckles either. Absently, she wondered why that was.

Brooklyn's pale blue eyes looked from the Russian to the Irishwoman and he rolled his eyes. His almost pure white skin was soft and perfect. His lips curved into the slightest of smirks.

"Any day, Belle."

"Huh?" She was snapped out of her reverie. "You're on! Today, right now, right here. I bet that you can't beat me at one-on-one hockey match."

Brooklyn nodded to assure her that he'd accepted, before continuing his tirade to ruin the two girls' day. "But, the loser has to be the winners slave for... Two weeks."

He watched in satisfaction as he got her riled up. Amber shook her head knowing the other girl wouldn't back down.

Arista's mouth opened and closed like a fish. That meant that she had to everything he told her to do, and for thirteen days?

_If I lose, I'm making a bet that's worse than going to hell and back. But if I don't accept, then his already over-sized head will get even bigger._

"So what's it going to be, Belle?" He asked somewhat impatiently.

"Stop calling me that, and no way I'm going to lose to you."

"Okay then. But we have to have it later, when there are witnesses."

"Why? You want to lose around people? I thought you'd rather when no one was around so that you won't get embarrassed." A small smirk flittered across Arista's mouth.

"That's what you think. I want witnesses around so that when you lose, everyone will know it."

"Not going to happen, Mr. I-think-I'm-the-best-but-really-am-not!" Amber quipped dryly.

He gave a gallic shrug before responding. "Just be there."

And with that he turned around and walked away.

"'Ris, you know that if you lose, he's going to boss you around for two weeks?" Amber spoke slowly.

"I thought you were my friend. Be a little more supportive, why don't you?"

"Yeah. But still, he is a good player. Even if he's a total dick-wad."

"I don't plan on losing anytime soon, Ams. I've got a game plan, it's all up here in my noodle." Arista tapped her head with her index finger to elucidate her point.

_At least, I hope I won't lose_...

--

"He shoots-" Brooklyn waited for the puck to go into the net "-and he scores!"

Time stood still for Arista as she watched the puck glide on the smooth ice, straight into the net.

First she was shocked, then as she slowly processed the fact that he had won; she gave out a cry of frustration.

"Cheater! I demand a re-match!"

"Okay. But just to make it fair, let's raise the stakes a little... The winner, which is obviously going to be me again, will get to boss the loser, which is going to be you again, around for two weeks, and-" Brooklyn paused here to think about what he could possibly add to make her life more of a terror, "-the loser, namely you, will also have to subject themselves to volunteering for cafeteria duties for a week."

"WHAT?" Arista's exaggerated facial features and her louder than normal voice did little to hide her shock.

The large crowd that had gathered 'oohed' and 'awed' at his bold statement. They now looked over to Arista, waiting for her reaction.

_Idiots_, she thought with a groan as they watched her intently.

"WHAT?" She repeated again. "What do you mean volunteer? Are you mad, Adams?"

"I meant what I said. When you lose again, you'll have to help with lunch duties." He spoke slowly, as if talking to an eight-year-old. "Unless you're afraid you'll lose... Again." He added for good measure because he knew it would irritate her.

She glared as he taunted her, leaning on his black hockey stick.

"In your dreams. You just watch, I'm not going to lose. First one to score five goals wins."

"Sure thing Belle."

She gritted her teeth and skated over to the centre. Brooklyn skated in pursuit. Amber was already there, waiting for them. She blew a whistle, and dropped the puck, purposely dropping it closer to her Russian friend.

The black circular disc fell onto the ice with a dull thud. Arista, being the quicker of the two, already had the puck and was skating towards the left end of the icy field.

Brooklyn wasted no time in going after her. Just as she was about to shoot, he snatched at the puck with his stick, and glided around at the back of the net.

"You want it?" He waited for her reaction. She glared at him challengingly. "Then come and get it."

She charged around the right side of the net, but he had skated out from the left. She mentally slapped herself.

He looked behind him and saw her angry expression.

Smirking he slowed down as he neared the net, and shot the puck slowly, wanting to prove to her that he was the better of the two.

He knew how to get her worked up. This was too easy.

--

"No!" Arista yelled as Brooklyn scored his fifth goal.

"No, no, no, no, no. NO!"

"Actually, it's more like yes, yes, yes, yes, and what was it again? Yes!"

"Go fuck yourself." She said through gritted teeth.

"So unlady-like." He mocked her, enjoying her misery.

She gave another cry of anger then slowly skulked off, ignoring him, and the crowd.

All she could think about was the fact that she had lost! And to an ego bigger than the size of the Himalayas, or even Mount Everest in this case. The mere thought of it sent dreadful shivers down her spine.

"I swear I'll get you back for this, Adams!" She yelled aloud to no one in particular.


	2. What A Predicament

13 Shades of grey

What A Predicament!

**Disclaimer: **Beyblade, the idea of the spinny-tops, and all related indicia, belong to Takao Aomi. Amber Benson is courtesy of Zadien, whilst I own Arista Belyaev. Shahero Kaeto belongs to Coors, whilst Miyami Kinomaya is the property of sun thief/sombrero.

--

"You want to _what_?"

Brooklyn grinned as Arista was forced to keep her end of the bet. Camera held steady, he captured the footage of what was termed cruel and unusual punishment.

"I would like to volunteer with cafeteria duties this week.."

"But why?" Surprise evident on the round, aged face of the woman Arista was speaking to.

"Because.." Arista paused trying to coherently think of a valid reason. They surely wouldn't mind the help but the looks on the faces of the cafeteria ladies was that of sheer bafflement

"Tell them why Belle," Brooklyn said using a drawling tone to emphasize his sarcastic use of the French language as a nickname for Arista.

Angrily she flipped him off behind her back, while standing grim faced whilst taking in the kitchens. A musty smell, somewhat resembling dried flour and spices traveled up her nostrils. Her imagination, working overtime with no pay as is usually did, thought up disgusting scenarios and predicaments that she could possibly, most likely be in during the course of the forthcoming week.

"I would like to fulfill my duties as a student to this school by helping you out."

Lame as it may have sounded, and as far from the truth as it was, it seemed to have worked. Smiles lit up on the underpaid workers' faces. Oh what a joyous, wonderful time she'd have this week with cafeteria duties.

--

Brooklyn walked into his dorm room as Arista held the door open for him. With a turn of her wrist she closed the door behind her. Mystel, the other current occupant of the dorm, smiled in acknowledgement as his comrade walked in, shortly followed by an acquaintance he knew as Ari.

"First of all I want you to call me Master." Brooklyn spoke slowly, deliberately to provoke the female.

"No." A defiant tone had taken over her usually aloof attitude.

"You have to, we made a bet. I won, you lost; simple as that."

"Yes, Master _Dicklyn_." She added in and undertone.

"Pass me that water bottle."

"But you have enough liquids in your body as it is. Excessive amounts might I add."

Rolling his eyes, he reached past her, to the side table of his bed, picking it up himself. He would have to give her time to teach her the true meaning of unconditional service. Currently he was sitting on his bed, as Arista sat on the floor cross legged, browsing through his CD collection. She muttered to herself about his musical preferences, adding her twelve cents in where she could.

"When I tell you to do something, you do it. Understood?"

"Understood, Master Dicklyn." She saluted him, but just couldn't stop a smirk from forming on her lips, taking away from the serious stance she took.

"Stop calling me that. And quit muttering, I can't understand you."

She snorted, like he'd want to listen to her anyways. She was upset about losing, still bitter about the fact that he'd tricked her into losing somehow. Although she had no evidence to clearly pin him with, she was at loss for ideas, though she'd never admit that to anyone.

Catching his smug facial expression, she closed her eyes, easing her mind a little. She could feel a headache coming on just by looking at that awful appearance. Actually he wasn't too bad on the eyes. Tall, muscular, with strong lines, he had a good form. Ginger hair feel into sharp bangs around his face, she noticed the little hairs on the nape of his neck, very soft and feminine looking. His eyes, a light moss green were rounded on her, while bold eyebrows enforced his features. His lips were set in a firm line, looking quite displeased.

"Have you ever considered being a gay male underwear model?"

"The hell?" His eyes widened in confusion at the sheer irrelevancy of her question. What went through her mind, if anything at all was in there, he thought.

He was stopped from answering this as Mystel snickered at the very straightforward question.

"Well, have you? Because believe you me, you'd could make a pretty penny from it." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively all the while trying not to burst out into a fit.

After sending an unimpressed glance towards Mystel, he turned to face the female whom he didn't quite get along with.

"What is wrong with you?" His voice was stern and business like.

Not able to contain her mirth, Arista laughed loudly, trying to muffle her laughter by putting her hand in her mouth. She realized a little too late that it was to no avail and would probably choke her seeing as it wasn't exactly possible to breathe while laughing so hard, she removed the now saliva encased hand from her mouth. Before Brooklyn could do anything, she had rubbed off the saliva on his trouser leg.

"You wouldn't understand 'Lyn. You have to have a sense of humour." She giggled loudly, watching his comical expressions as he looked on in utter distaste.

"Ugh!" He groaned in displeasure.

Why he was being so lenient with Arista, Brooklyn didn't know. She was just so, well actually he didn't know, but she was different to say the least. If he said she was eclectic, it would an understatement. She had spunk and obviously just said what she thought.

Mystel looked on in amusement. He knew Brooklyn to be cold, and disassociate. This was definitely a different side to the stony, badass figure he had going on.

Getting up he walked into the bathroom to salvage what he could and get the saliva off of him. Not wanting a good opening for a minor prank to go unused, Arista took advantage of the current situation and got up, creeping behind Brooklyn.

"Sazkarfranabolt!" She yelled aloud the first thing that came to her mind. Pointless gibberish.

Brooklyn, taken by surprise jumped as he spun around, spilling water on himself. Sopping wet in most areas he growled, his eyebrows moving closer together.

All the while Mystel sat, watching with amusement as Arista laughed sheepishly, trying to worm her way out of the situation.

"Uh oh… Looks like someone had an accident." Arista commented in a sing-song voice.

The red head glanced down and indeed it seemed that way.

"Quite being a fucking prat and act your own age. You're not a baby and I'll be damned if I have to watch you for the next two weeks."

Chuckling at his attempt to sound serious in his current situation, she opened her mouth to retort. "I'm not the one who needs a diaper, _Master _Dicklyn."

She grinned but it quickly changed to fear, as Brooklyn's anger got the better of him. He looked like a maniac; he could have hit her, right there on the spot. But he didn't, instead he growled low and dangerous in his throat.

Cautiously, she took a step back. She wondered if she'd gone too far. She was always getting into trouble with her mouth. It never quite complied with her brain.

He took a step closer, his anger practically radiated off of him like waves.

"Maybe you should sit down. You look…" _like a maniac_, she thought, but replaced that with "angry."

Staring straight at her he pierced her with a look made to kill.

Slowly she took a few steps back to distance herself from him. This was intimidating her to say the least.

"All right, look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm just concerned about my health. I'd like to live another hour at the most. And you _do_ look angry, well actually you probably are, but that's beside the point, the point being--"

He cut her off. "Shut up, just.. Shut up, okay?"

While she was taking the precautionary measure of moving backwards to save her butt, Brooklyn had been stalking closer to her to get his point across. He did not enjoy her remarks, and it was a blow to his pride that someone so insignificant in his life could get him so riled up.

Arista stood with her back to the door, pressed firmly against it for safety. Brooklyn's face has taken quite a nasty turn as it was now vehement with rage most likely, and glaring at her through angry eyes.

"What a smooth talker you are." Mystel commented.

Arista glanced towards the said boy. He was always happy, how could anyone be so perky she wondered. Abruptly she was knocked senseless as the door opened in a frenzy, pushing her forwards, sprawling into Brooklyn. The two tumbled to the ground, only to have Tyson land on top of them as he was roughly shoved by Hillary for some reason or other.

The trio on the ground groaned as aches and bruises suddenly made themselves known. Arista had landed on the bottom of the pile of tangled limbs and body parts. Her face turned quite a shade of red as she noticed the hands on her chest.

While in the midst of getting up, Brooklyn had raised his upper body in order to sit, in the process rolling Tyson off of him, whilst resting his hands on the small mounds of Arista's breasts. He shook his head, disgruntled by the quandary.

"What the hell?" he questioned aloud.

Arista who was pinned by the weight of the male struggled to breathe, trying to hide her discomfort and embarrassment.

"Would… you… get… off, please? Need… air.." she managed as her rib cage was being suppressed by Brooklyn.

He jumped off of her, as if he'd been scalded. His hair fell over his eyes as he tried to cover his own mortification, albeit failing miserably. His skin was tinged with a shade very close to ketchup. In his swift movement he landed on top of Tyson's back.

Tyson, whose eyes were closed in intense pain due to Brooklyn sitting on him, yelped loudly.

A loud thud echoed around the dorm room as Mystel made himself known due to the fact of him falling off of his bed.

Life was cruel, Arista concluded as she struggled to sit upright.

--

Shahero lazily walked down the hall to her dorm room. She had had another argument with Tyson's older brother, Hitoshi. That guy always seemed to find his way under her skin and she hated that. Now she had another detention slip to add to ever growing pile of pink slips. Just her luck. She was supposed to be with Mr. Bailey five minutes ago, she confirmed after a quick glance at her watch.

She started running the opposite way from her dormitory. She climbed two flights of stairs and kept running until she got to where she was supposed to have been. Miyami was in there, as were Amber, Ian, and another kid she didn't recognize.

"Hey Hero."

"Miss Kaeto, will you explain why your so late?" The dark skinned man named Charles Bailey stared at her inquisitively. He'd just awoken from a light doze. His eyes were narrowed and he didn't appear too happy. A red button down shirt clung to him; white pants were loose on his legs. Brown eyes were staring at her, his mouth was set into a thin line.

"I was in the washroom." She said it almost automatically, the lie slid off her tongue smoothly. She watched him nod slowly then motion for her to take a seat.

He scanned the students in the classroom then lowered his gaze to the novel he was reading.

"What are you in for?" Amber asked when Shahero sat down at a desk right beside her.

"Hitoshi." She said frustrated. "You?"

Amber nodded then twisted her mouth. "Him." She drew back her thumb and pointed her finger at Ian Petrovich. He sat two seats back and one across from them.

Miyami poked Amber, and when the ochre teen looked back, Miyami held up her sketchbook. Amber snorted, then giggled. Shahero turned around to look at the drawing.

It was clearly Ian. And he was wearing a dress with frills and lace. Ribbons decorated him. He had a narrow waist, and curvy hips, his legs were femininely long and slender. His eyelashes were twice the normal length, and his lips were in a pout. His eyes were hooded lazily, while he was standing in a girlish pose. His hair was long and went to the small of his back, but the fringe was still there. His nose was as large as ever.

Shahero's jaw dropped at how life like the picture was. She knew Miyami was an artist but she had only seen sketches. She started laughing, and put her hands over her mouth to quiet herself, which was no use seeing as it didn't help at all.

Bailey looked at them curiously after hearing laughter. His eyes narrowed. "Keep it down."

Amber and Shahero lowered their voices, only snickers could be heard.

"We have to photocopy that and post it everywhere!" Shahero exclaimed.

"Yeah. Serves him right, he put gum in my hair and glued my pencils together. Then he put rotten food in my locker." Amber said, her eyes held Ian's and she smirked.

Ian watched her, he couldn't hear what she was saying but he didn't like the malevolent glint she had in her amber eyes. He narrowed his own eyes and watched the three girls snicker and look at a book Miyami was holding.

"What are you laughing at?" He hissed viciously but quietly so that Bailey wouldn't hear him.

"Why, we're laughing at your face Ian." Amber's voice was laced with sarcasm and insult.

"Let me see that." He reached with his hand then held it out but only got pencil shavings that Miyami threw into his outstretched hand.

"What the hell?" He yelled when he saw what had been placed instead of the grey book. He figured it was a sketchbook the way Miyami kept scribbling things in it then showing it to Amber and Shahero. It was obvious it was something to do with him since they kept looking at him then at whatever Miyami had drawn. He shoved the shavings on the floor. Whatever the hell they were up to, he'd figure a way around it. He was good at pranks, and almost always got away with it. But sometimes he wouldn't think clearly and would screw it up and get detention.

He lunged at the book that Miyami was holding, but she was quicker and dodged sending Ian spiraling towards the floor. Amber sneered and laughed at him, Shahero was already doubled over with laughter. Tears were forming in her eyes as she struggled to keep herself from falling.

"Is there a problem?" The teacher questioned.

"Nothing. Ian just needs to get his hormones in check." Miyami drawled and smirked. She snickered at the Russian on the floor.

His face was beat red and unlike the picture she had drawn he was angry and anything but feminine. Ian fisted his hands and got up. He stalked back to his seat and cursed. After sitting down he rubbed the dirt off himself and glared at Amber. She in return, stuck out her tongue and pulled her eyelid down.

Ian gathered enough control to not have a go at her. One of these days he would deck her, when she was least expecting it. That would show her, he thought. He stuck up his middle finger at her; she returned the gesture carelessly. That only made him angrier. But he held it in.

An idea hit him. A slow, twisted smile found its way onto his lips.

Amber frowned, that look so did not suit him. He was up to something. Well, whatever he does, I can do better. She pushed her hair back from her face, then mimicked his expression as best she could.

Ian faltered for just a second. What the hell had she just thought of? Damn it. He grinned again, that same twisted way. Whatever she does, I can do better.

Amber noticed that look in his eyes, Just what was he thinking? Deciding she was not a mind reader, she just held his gaze unblinkingly. He followed the same.

Miyami watched them, then looked down at her drawing. It was missing something. Then she figured it out. Her drawing of Ian Petrovich was missing a _chest_. She snickered at the thought, while her gaze flicked over to the midget Russian. She held his gaze for a split second before rubbing out a part of Ian's body with the eraser off the top of her pencil. Ian didn't notice though.

"Hey, Ams." Shahero poked the Irishwoman and waited for a response. When she didn't get any, she poked her again.

"What?" But Amber never removed her eyes off Ian. They were now locked in a staring match.

"Don't look now, but Kai's coming."

Amber's eyes glared daggers at the door, only to see no one was there. "Liar. Now look, I lost." She sulked childishly.

"Well, you weren't listening. Anyways, look he's asleep." She pointed to the sleeping adult at the front of the class. "Come on, let's go. Sonia said she would help us with that English essay, let's go now before she goes to one of those prefect meetings."

"'Yami, you coming?" Amber got up and turned around.

"What, and miss staying here in this cold room listening to someone snore and someone else glare at me?" Sarcasm dripped off every word.

"Come on then." Shahero said. All three of them made their way out of the classroom quietly then closed the door.

When they stepped outside Shahero immediately pulled out a necklace. It was a thin, plain silver chain. And a key dangled from it. She put the key in the keyhole, turned it. There was a click to signify that the door had locked from the outside.

Miyami and Amber stared curiously at her. "Who gave you that?" Miyami asked.

"Kane got it from Dickenson when he became head boy. Aspin stole it and made me a copy. Locks any door and opens any door. At least that's what Kane always says. Besides," She grinned "Ian's still in there."


	3. Dearest Pinocchio, With Love

13 Shades of Grey

Dearest Pinocchio, With Love

--

Arista fumed as she scrubbed furiously at the dishes in front of her. Caked on grease and other such atrocities plagued her as she struggled to keep a steady hand.

She cursed the red head. Damn him. It was his fault. Everything was his fault. If the clouds came crashing down from the sky she would blame him. If the school burned down, it would be his fault, not that she would mind it a whole lot. There wouldn't need to be an explanation why, it would just be his fault. Simple as that.

She ground out a cry of fury when the lunch ladies put another stack of dirty dishes by her side. This was just plain hopeless. No way would she ever finish the mountain of tableware. Especially not by herself.

With a heavy heart she decided she'd go and take a breather. She was getting no where fast and she'd be damned if she let her arms fall off.

Arista sighed in discontent, wiping soap suds off of her arms and hands. She tugged off her apron. Pushing past the double doors she walked outside to the cool breeze. Only to be surprised when cold water hit her in big, juicy drops. Grumbling, she cursed the weather, although it quite suited her mood.

--

"Sonia!" Ozuma yelled across the hall to the garnet haired girl. "Wait up." He pushed his way through the crowd and joined her side. Amber walked up beside them, mumbling something incoherent and looking over a piece of paper.

She stood dressed neatly, her hair in a tidy bun. Her prefect's badge shined when the light caught. Her socks were rolled down, while her sleeves were rolled up. She glanced nervously in his direction. The freckles on her cute face allured him, as did her lips, and her button nose.

"Hey, Oz. What's up?" She smiled at him before looking over his appearance.

He looked tired, his tie hanging loosely around his neck, his blazer was folded on his arm, swinging slightly as he walked. The red streak in his hair was a contrast to the grey, she noticed, it enhanced his already amazing teal eyes.

"Going to study hall. I have to finish my maths homework."

"Yeah. I just got my test back. I got a fucking fifty-three per cent." Amber said angrily. She shoved the paper into her pants pocket and looked to the ceiling of the hallway. "Does he hate me or what?"

Ozuma shrugged. It was hard to hate her, Amber was just likeable. Aside from being naive at times, and painfully neurotic, he loved and cared for her very much. "I don't think so." He thought out loud.

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to hate you." Sonia added.

"If it is, then why the hell is my locker painted over with yellow!" Sure enough there was a bold, puke yellow colour coating her locker in a tacky fashion. It was still wet and there were drops falling in circles to the floor.

Amber charged towards it, trying in vain to wipe away furiously at the paint. When she couldn't get it off she gave cry of anger and frustration. The paint wasn't quite dry yet so it was all over her hands. Not realizing this she unconsciously ran her hands through her hair leaving streaks of paint behind. She struggled to open her lock and had to try the combo at least four times before it opened in her haste. A tumble of books, paper, clothes and other knick-knacks fell out, knocked her down. She sat on the floor while onlookers satirized her of being clumsy. Most of everything had fallen into her lap, and everything else was scattered in the floor in front, behind and around her.

"I'm going to kill that little dipshit!"

She shoved everything back into her locker irately then tore off down the hall. Ian Petrovich was going to die, then go to hell, then come back and be reincarnated so she could kill him again. And so the process would repeat itself several times over.

Sonia and Ozuma couldn't help but laugh at the Irish teen's misfortune.

"What are you laughing at?" Aspin asked as she joined them, Kane was walking along side her, his arm wrapped around Aspin's waist going dangerously lower. She glanced at the painted locker. "Did someone lose their eyesight?"

"Ian never had any colour co-ordination." Kane snickered at his own comment.

"I don't know how you put up with him." Sonia said exasperatedly, while Kane smirked in a superior manner. "Or how Spin puts up with you."

Kane opened his mouth to reply but was cut short.

"Hush." Aspin ordered, as she put a finger to his lips. "That's a good boy." She coaxed him and patted his head after scratching behind his ear.

"I'm not a dog." He retorted, his hand swooping to hold her backside.

"You look like one." Miyami commented from down the hallway. She was holding a box overflowing with paper. Some of them fell down. She bent over and lifting them put them back in the box. Kai walked out of a classroom with a similar box.

"What are you two doing?" Sonia asked.

"We're holding boxes." Kai replied flatly. He never was one for small talk, always being the loner or asocial one of the group of friends.

Aspin rolled her green eyes, shaking purple violet locks of hair out of her face. "Besides that."

"Delivering papers to teachers." At Ozuma's raised eyebrows Miyami elaborated. "It's a make up detention. We weren't paying attention when we were supposed to."

"Oh. So what kind of papers?" He probed.

"Blank, white sheets because there was a note on the VP's desk saying that everyone ran out." She averted her gaze knowing the reason behind it. "So now we have to give them out or be stuck with Mr. Sherman in the Science lab cleaning out dissection plates."

"What wonderful options." Kane said sarcastically.

Aspin rolled her eyes again. "I said hush boy." She yanked on his tie. Kane just shrugged his shoulder. Sonia laughed.

"Good boy, you deserve a cookie." Sonia patted his head and smiled.

Ozuma laughed at that. "Come on let's go." Aspin and Kane left them walking opposite ways. Ozuma and Sonia walked the other way towards the study hall.

--

Arista, after having finished up with lunch duties for the day, tiredly walked back to her room. Upon opening it she saw Aspin and Kane heavily making out. Too preoccupied in their own world, they failed to notice her. That was fine with her as she made a face at the display of affection.

Gross, she mused. Deciding a shower was in order, she looked around for her towel. Upon spotting the blue lump on the floor, she proceeded to pick it up and search for clean clothes. The black t-shirt she wore now was covered in soap scum and dirt, as was her tartan skirt.

She fished around until she found the desired items.

"Don't stop, Kane.." Aspin's voice trailed off as the two proceeded to continue their session in love.

"Ugh." Arista grunted in disgust. "Gross, gross, gross."

It was enough to have made anyone nauseous. Not wasting any more time she promptly walked into the washroom, flicking on the light as she locked the door.

Stripping her clothes off, she jumped into the shower and turned on the taps.

--

Arista took a long walk around the school, then walked a fair bit to get to the park. She'd had a long talk with Brooklyn and they'd agree that the other part of the bet would begin when she was done with lunch duties. She wasn't exactly happy about that seeing as she wanted to get it over with, but nonetheless she'd agreed. Glancing around she saw Shahero on the bench and made her way across to her dark-haired friend.

She was short and skinny. Dark black hair was tied into a high ponytail to keep the hair out of her face, although a few tendrils fell to frame her face. Her eyes were almond shaped keeping cerulean orbs in place. Her small lips were jutted out in a pout that meant she was deep in thought.

"Hey." Arista sat down on the bench beside her.

Shahero blinked, lashes beating against pale skin. "Suppers?" She could see that the other girls' cheeks were somewhat rosy, probably because of the evening breeze. She looked ragged with her sweater on backwards.

Arista shook her head. "Nothing. What're you up to?"

"Thinking about shit and stuff." Shahero said casually.

"That's what toilets and outhouses are for."

She shrugged, "So? It's a free country."

Arista laughed. "Yeah. You could always use the bushes"

"What, and give those peeping toms you hear about a free show? Besides, your sweaters on backwards, not to mention inside out."

"So? Like you said, it's a free country."

"Damn right."

"So you really think some guy would follow you just to watch you urinate into some bushes?"

The two shared bewildered looks as they imagined the scenario in their minds. A wild laughter filled the air as the two succumbed to tears of merrymaking.

A comfortable silence settled down on them. They continued to sit there in each other's company for a while before they decided to leave. They walked back to their school chatting and talking amicably.

--

Amber jerked her head around when she heard a noise. She was inside the gym where Ian was hiding from her. She had found him in the boys' washroom after Spencer told her where he was. She'd waited for him to come out, when he saw her he almost automatically ran past her. She chased after him and they'd ended up in the gym.

Because he had gotten in here before her, he had hidden somewhere and she couldn't find him. He was small, making it easy to hide from her. She would wait him out, she decided. He would have to do something or go somewhere eventually. She heard another noise from behind her, and turned around.

There was Ian dragging out two crates of dodge balls. She groaned, this wasn't going to be pretty. Ian smirked, glanced at her. He reached down towards the rack of round, plush balls, and picked up two. He threw one at her but she dodged. He threw the other at her; it hit her leg.

Amber scrambled to pick up the fallen dodge balls and throw them back at him. She threw some well aimed ones while others flopped to the ground. Ian kept grabbing and throwing until he ran out. Then he picked up the ones on the floor and threw them at her. Amber covered her head with her arms, shielding her minute body from him. Ian took the opportunity to run away.

When the rein of dodge balls stopped Amber tentatively looked up, Ian was no where to be seen.

"Damn it!" She cursed then ran out the doors.

Ian wasn't far off when she started after him again; he looked back and yelped almost tripping. Amber's eyes were narrowed and angry. A chain of curses and profanities wrung through the still air. If there was anyone lurking in the hallway or any teachers in the classrooms they did nothing to stop the two, or the vile language.

"Get back here, ass wipe!"

"No way, chicken legs." Ian shouted back.

Ian darted to the stairs and climbed them quickly; Amber copied him jumping them two at a time. She made to grab the back of his shirt but narrowly missed. He cursed and bolted the rest of the way up. Amber growled and stumbled slightly on her untied shoelaces. She was at the top of the stairs now; she fell forward but used her hands to brace her fall. Her left sneaker slid forwards. She scrambled up and shoved it back on roughly, shoving her laces into her shoes.

There was a prick in her knee, but she ignored, kept running. She pushed open the doors on someone. She didn't bother to care as she was knocked down again when a big brown box fell on top of her. Blood sputtered around her, but it wasn't hers. The wind was knocked out of her lungs, and she struggled to breathe.

"Amber?" Miyami surveyed the female under Kai and the box. "Shit! Here." She pulled Kai up and shoved the box off Amber.

Her silver hair was streaked with pale green, pink, and black as it fell forwards on her face when she bent down. Chunky bangs hung in front of her eyes. Her small athletic body was covered by a black sweater and a grey skirt that went to her knees with many pockets. She wore flat-heeled shoes that did nothing for her height. Several jelly bracelets adorned her arms capturing the light to give them a glowing effect. Her sleeves were rolled up, Amber noticed dazed as she tried to get up.

Miyami reached out a hand and helped Amber up. She turned to face the blunette. "Kai, are you okay?"

Kai's hands, which were red with blood now, covered his nose. Blood was leaking through his hands and spilling on the ground.

Amber didn't notice him, all she could think about was that Ian was getting away. She took in a few breaths then turned around and ran after Ian.

She didn't have far to go because Ian jumped on her when she was about to turn the corner, he landed on top of her. She fell to the floor again, not liking this position at all.

"What the hell? Ge' off me, you arse!"

Amber struggled with him, and pushed him back knocking him off balance. Ian fell to the floor, Amber turned him around and straddled his legs. She twisted back his arm and held him in an uncomfortable position.

"Amber!" Miyami called from down the hall. Amber turned around and her grip on Ian loosened. He took the opportunity to knock her off him. Amber fell back and groaned. She shook her head and got up, Ian was facing her in a fighting stance.

"I never hit girls but I don't think you're a part of that species"

"You want hand to hand, Petrovich?" Amber took her own stance. "You're going down. I'll hit you so hard you won't know what happened."

In one swift movement she'd kicked his knee so it made a sickening crack. Amber aimed a punch to his gut, sending him back a few steps.

"I've always wanted to beat Ian to a bloody pulp." Shahero quipped as she and Arista made their way to Ambers side.

"Yeah. Pinocchio's always annoyed me." Arista smirked.

"Your face annoys me, Belyaev." Ian said, his eyes shifting around from face to face.

"Yeah well, your existence annoys me. So let's make that history." She shot back.

In one quick movement Arista had dumped him to the floor and held his hands down, Amber straddled him so he couldn't get up and started punching his stomach. Shahero waited anxiously until Amber was done. When she was done Shahero took her place, and pounded him.

Meanwhile, after putting all the paper back in the boxes, and helping Kai, Miyami made her way to the trio situated around Ian. She watched with mild amusement.

"Amber, you possibly broke Kai's nose, and now you want to kill Ian too? I thought one a day was how you were going to handle it."

"I lost count." She answered merrily. "Besides Wonder boy looks better that way." She said after glancing at Kai, although she did feel guilty. She made a mental note to apologize to him later.

"My turn." Arista said happily and took Shahero's place. She aimed a few punches to his face, and a few to his gut. She decided that he was already beaten enough and got off him.

"Cheers to a job well done." Shahero commented.


	4. Guilty, Among Other Things

_13 Shades of Grey_

_Guilty, Among Other Things_

**Disclaimer**: Same old, same old. Arista mine. Beyblade © Takao Aoki. Amber is courtesy of Zadien, as with Ruin. Hero belongs to Coors (check it out, she updated!), Miyami is … sun-thief/ sombrero/ ChibiTari/ understudy/ unlucky-star? Aspin Grant is Animerles (don't know the new account), Sonia M. is property of Sae. Did I leave anyone out?

--

Guilt, Amber decided was something she wasn't entirely too familiar with. And definitely something she didn't like. She hated the fact that she had to apologize, and to none other than Kai himself. She hadn't meant to break his nose. It was pure accident. And she didn't mean to rub it in the other night. Her mind was on Ian and getting back at him, otherwise she wouldn't have been so snippy.

She dragged her hands through her hair, which was left open today. Groaning when she saw Kai's class had ended through the glass window of the classroom.

Why did he have to have been there when she was opening the damn door? He'd probably done it on purpose, just to make her feel bad.

No, she rethought that. Why would he break his nose to get at her? That was quite absurd, she mused. Besides, that wasn't like him. Amber sighed and followed after him down the hallway.

"Hiwatari," She called out. "Wait!"

He stopped and turned around, face void of any sentiment. His bangs fell over his face, not wanting to let his demeanor slip. She ran to catch up to him, elbowing people out of her way as she went past, mumbling apologies as she went. When Kai saw that it was Amber, he turned around and continued walking. His nose had swelled, if only just a little. His eyes narrowed in annoyance as another flicker of pain shot through it.

A cut along the bridge of his nose was the only outward reminder of yesterdays mishap.

The thoughts swarming inside his head were akin to that of a bevy of wasps. Damn her, he thought to himself. He continued walking and picked up his pace a little, losing her in the crowd. Or so he thought.

Amber stood in front of him, blocking his way into the boys' washroom. She panted, her cheeks the slightest shade of pink, her left eye was bruised black and blue no doubt caused by Petrovich.

A feeling inside him bubbled, wanting to surface viciously, but he held it in, not wanting to let her know how he felt. His insides lurched at his thought process, he was going to murder Ian.

"Get out of my way." He growled.

"I--No! Wait, just hear me out. It's about yesterday, I'm sorry." She rushed it out quickly.

His eyes narrowed in anger and something else she couldn't recognize. Couldn't she see she had hurt him enough? In more ways than one. He didn't need a bruise on his ego to match the one on his heart, and face.

"Goddamn it! Get out of my way." He made to shove past her, but she blocked him.

Unlike Ian, Kai didn't hit females. He took a step back and started to walk away.

"Kai!" She'd called out using his first name, shocking the both of them. A scowl set on her lips, and her eyebrows scrunched together. Confused, as to whether she should try and apologize again or just walk away, she stood there not knowing what to do. When he simply got over the shock, he started to walk away yet again.

She shot after him, and grabbed his arm. He tried to yank it away from her, but that just brought her closer to him.

"Why aren't you listening to me? I'm trying to say--"

"Why can't you leave me alone?" He said in a whisper-like voice. It was infuriating him that she just wouldn't give up.

Amber's breath hitched when she sensed the anger in his voice. Another part of her felt excited, although she didn't know why. "I--I'm sorry."

He continued to stare at her indifferently. Kai yanked his arm away, and said, "I don't need your apology, Benson." He sneered when he said her name.

"Well, like it or not, you have to accept it because it's the truth!" She replied indignantly.

"Oh, is it?" His eyes narrowed. She stared into the mahogany depths, losing herself in the feeling of disappointment he seemed to emit.

"Or are you saying sorry because you feel guilty? I don't need or want your pity." He snarled and walked around her towards the boys' washrooms, disappearing behind the door with a stick figure man on it.

Amber closed her eyes, sighed. If she had to go in there, she would. She turned and stalked awkwardly into the direction of the washroom.

She had a quick intake of breath before she opened the door, immediately closing her eyes. She put her hands around them and lowered her head. She heard the door open and close. She prayed that Kai hadn't left.

"Okay, so I feel bad. It was an accident, we both know that. I didn't mean for that to happen. I wasn't thinking and I was going after Ian, not you. You have to understand that. I couldn't have known you'd be there. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I'm sorry. I am deeply sorry Kai. If you can't understand that then I guess I'll just have to live with it."

Kai contemplated her words, and thought about them, he gave a small grunt to signal he had heard it. He heard a sigh from her lips. He waited to see if she would continue.

"If you won't accept my apology then I have nothing more to say to you." She opened her eyes, keeping her gaze to the floor and cautiously opened the door of the room. She glanced around to see if there were any teachers around. When she saw none, she walked out inconspicuously and then fled down the hallway not to be spotted by anyone she knew.

Hoping that he would forgive her, she made her way to the Café after a much audible growl was heard from her stomach. Before she even reached it, she was pulled over by Aspin and Miyami.

"Hey. We have a little something to do. We have four bottles of itching powder and Ian's dorm is empty. Wanna help? Arista and Shahero are going to keep watch." Miyami said in a hurried whisper.

"What do you say?" Aspin's emerald green eyes gleamed.

"I, uh, okay. Sure." Amber agreed to get her mind off Kai and what had happened. "I really need something to cheer me up." She grinned and walked off with her friends.

--

Kai watched her grin, running off with Miyami and Aspin. So, I guess she didn't mean it. He was disgusted with himself for believing her. He turned around and walked to the stairs. And here he was, ready to accept her apology. His eyes narrowed for another time that day.

"Almost had me fooled Benson."

It hurt him when she looked so miserable. But it wasn't fair that she could rip away at his heart and leave it bleeding. It wasn't fair that she could go on about everyday things without even the littlest clue that everything she did, and said affected him. It just wasn't fair. He growled. His mind was always wandering over to her. He constantly thought about her, and she didn't even realize it. Goddamn it, why should he have to go through every ache, strain, and tear that went through his heart. Why couldn't she share the pain?

--

"Which one is Ian's drawer?" Aspin asked, looking around.

"The one with the small clothes." Miyami snickered. "This one." She had pulled open a dresser drawer and was taking out clothes and spraying them with the white powder from the bottle labeled _Itching Powder_.

"Let's get started."

Amber joined them and grinned wickedly. They had at least a good twenty minutes to spray it all over Ian's clothes. She dug into the drawer and pulled out boxer shorts.

"Ew!"

She dropped them like they were poison and wiped her hands on her pants. She put her hand to her heart and said a prayer. She looked around for something long to poke around with when she heard voices outside. They were hardly audible but she could make out Arista and Shahero's voice.

She moved closer to the door while her companions continued to wreak havoc.

"What are you two doing?" Said a third voice.

--

Outside Arista and Shahero were stalling for time while Brooklyn questioned them on why they were standing there.

He had a black eye, and winced when he saw Belyaev. His gaze flickered over her for a second, she held it unblinkingly.

The other day she'd hit him with a frying pan in the midst of getting it cleaned off. He'd been teasing her while basically being an asshole. In reply to his behavior she'd sacked him with the metal cooking utensil.

With a brief narrowing of eyes, he turned away and rested his eyes on Shahero. He held a can of Nestea Ice in his hand, while the other clenched and unclenched in his jeans pocket.

He looked over the Asian female. She had her hair open; her sapphire blue eyes held something close to worry. She smiled uneasily, she was wearing a white blouse and black pants that looked like they would fall off any time, and on top of them she had on a pleated black skirt. Basically it was a modified school uniform, She was short, standing at exactly five feet. Compared to him, she was a good 10 inches shorter than he was. She brushed back her black silky silver and sapphire streaked hair behind her ear with her hand.

"What are _you_ doing?" She asked him.

Shahero nudged Arista with her elbow. "Yeah." Her voice wavered slightly.

Brooklyn turned to her. She had her hair open as well. The silver, gold tipped strands of silk suited her. Navy eyes glinted with amber. She blinked. She was wearing a black sweater with the school's white button down shirt underneath. Grey jeans hung on her hips. Arista stood only six inches shorter than he did. He raised an eyebrow and continued to stare at her.

"What are you doing?" He asked her directly.

"I... Uh, Shahero, and me, we're waiting for... for someone. Right?" Because she couldn't stand to see the mark she'd left, she willed herself to look at Shahero.

Shahero had noticed his black eye, and the unusual awkwardness between Arista and Brooklyn. Usually he would be an ass and she would reply with something insulting.

"Yeah. We're waiting for Johnny."

Brooklyn's gaze didn't falter; he kept his eyes on the Russian. "Johnny's in the café looking around for you, Kaeto. You should go." He took a sip from his drink to wet his parched throat.

"I--"

Brooklyn shot Shahero a piercing look.

She swallowed and turned to Arista. "Yeah. Johnny and I needed to talk about something anyway. Gotta go."

She didn't want to leave, but Hitoshi was coming towards them, and besides it looked like Arista and Brooklyn needed to sort something out. She narrowed her eyes when she passed Kinomiya. Before he could even say anything, she gave him the finger and ran off.

He grinned and turned abruptly after her at a casual pace. She was a hell of a female he thought to himself as he watched her run.

Arista watched them leave her. She didn't look back to who was in front of her, instead a feeling of dread washed over her.

--

Brooklyn waited for her to look back to him. He wouldn't take the first step. She would have to do that by herself.

When she was sure his gaze was elsewhere she looked up.

Mistake, she cursed herself inwardly. His moss green eyes had taken on a bluish tint. He took another sip from his drink.

"If you drink that, shouldn't you fall back into a small pool?" She lowered her eyes to the can that rested in his hand.

"I dunno." He said calmly, watching her.

Cool and composed, she calculated.

"I don't see a pool."

"Who are you waiting for?"

"Huh?" She'd walked around him, looking to see if a pool of water had formed. "Damn ads, they're such cheapskates and liars. There is no pool."

She rambled on about that because it was simply easier to ignore him than to face him.

"Belle. You didn't answer my question"

"Oh. Funny, isn't it?" She laughed nervously. He had taken on a bored monotone voice, almost hollow. "I'm just waiting."

He stared at her a second, noticing the change in attitude. "I can see that. Now tell me who or I'll have to escort you out of here."

She bit the inside of her cheek lightly. "Fine." Then after checking the time on his watch, she said aloud, "It's 6:58. I'm going to with Adams' because he a stupid fucking prat. Did you know that Shahero left me all alone to go help Johnny with something? I can't believe she did that to me. Now I'm leaving and no one is going to be in this hallway any more."

Brooklyn raised his eyebrows at her audacity, starting to walk away, she followed after him but not before giving a sharp rap on the door.

--

Amber was leaning against the door listening to everything that was being said outside. She checked the clock on the wall of the room and cursed.

"Hey, we gotta get this put away, and go!"

They shoved everything into the drawer messily and ran out the door.

Amber groaned. "Wait, I forgot one of the bottles. You guys go ahead, I'll catch up later."

Amber ran down the hallway and reopened the door. She stepped inside and found it. After picking it up about to leave, she heard a noise like the doorknob turning. She ducked into the closet and shut the door to it just before Kai stepped into the dorm. He tossed his bag down and looked around the room.

He found his bed and looked around to the night table. He picked up a small bottle and since classes were over for the day he took a tablet of Advil and lay down on his bed. Pulling the covers over his head.

Amber watched tentatively and waited until she was sure he was asleep to open the closet door. She closed it as soon as she opened it, but thankfully the closet door didn't make a noise.

Ian stepped into the room and opened his drawer. He pulled out a blue logo t-shirt, black pants, and undergarments. He turned towards the closet to get his towel, but he stopped when he found it on the floor.

Amber had to bite her tongue until she drew blood to not burst out laughing at his face. He had paint on it, and his clothes were splattered with red and yellow. His face was a mixture of green and black. No doubt Shahero or someone else had dumped it on him. That's probably what Johnny needed help with, to hold someone down while he could paint him all pretty like a rainbow. She snickered.

When he left to get into the shower she reopened the closet door and stepped out. She walked quickly, glancing at Kai. She tripped and fell on something sharp.

"Fuck!" She yelled out then stamped her hands over her mouth.

Too late, Kai had woken up already. His head shot up and hit the headboard of the bunk bed. Good thing he was on the bottom. He rubbed the side of his head. Kai saw Amber on the floor, her feet underneath her. He blinked away the grogginess in his eyes.

"I was just leaving. Go back to sleep." Then because she had seen it in a movie once she said, "This is all a dream."

"Then why did it hurt when I hit my head?"

"It wasn't real; you're imagining it. Oooh." She waved her arms around lamely doing a ghost-like impression.

"I don't think so."

"No, you don't think." She snickered then her face fell when Ian stepped out of the shower naked.

"What the hell? I thought the dorm was empty!" He yanked a towel in front of himself.

Amber's eyes widened.

"I didn't see anything!"

Her face had turned an extremely red shade before she bolted out of the dorm still clutching the bottle of Itching powder in her hands tightly. Behind her she heard curses and threats being yelled out by Ian. She didn't stop running to see how far she had gone until she had reached the female side of the dorm hallways. The stairs in the middle separated the two sides.

"Amber?" Mariah yelled out behind her. She caught up to the small female. "What are doing?" She placed a hand on her arm.

"I was running. Why? What did it look like?"

"Just that." She left Amber to her thoughts.

--

"Can I at least eat something before you plot my demise?"

"You should have thought of that before you decided to go messing about in Ian's dorm."

"How did you know?"

"Why else would you be there?"

Arista growled. "Yeah well, if you care so much why didn't you stop us?"

"I don't care."

"Uh-huh. You're gay; you just don't know it yet."

Brooklyn didn't reply to her statement. He simply continued walking along the hallway until he got to his dorm. He opened the door motioning for her to go inside.

Upon her raised eyebrow, he answered the unasked question. "Detention slips. No one actually goes, but if there's a record of it, well it's a whole other story. Hitoshi's got a stack of them."

Arista sighed grumpily, then walked in with him following behind her. She immediately walked to his bookcase, examining them with interest. She happily busied herself with the material, losing track of time and of what Brooklyn was doing.

--

After about ten minutes Brooklyn stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. He opened the door with a pair of jeans on and nothing else. He leaned in the frame of the doorway and watched Arista jump up and down on the spot.

"What are you doing?" He walked over to her.

"I'm… ugh, getting the book off the… aah!" She fell down and hit her back. Groaning she got back up and jumped again.

Knowing this was a helpless case he reached up and got it down for her. "Here." He handed it to her. He walked to his drawer and slipped on a white button down shirt. He turned to face her while doing up the buttons.

He handed her the slip of parchment. "You can go if you want, Belle."

"Sure," she wasn't paying attention, but absently responding to what she figured was someone talking. She was too busy reading to pay attention to the world around her.

He kneeled down in front of her, wanting to know what had stolen her attention away from him.

Quickly scanning the cover, he noted the author; _Hemmingway_, then the title; _Across the River and Into the Trees_.

Hmmn, now this gave him an idea. Maybe he could ruse her into adding another two weeks to the two she already owed him in servitude.

"Hey, Belyaev?"

"What?" She asked crossly. Couldn't he see she was reading? Was he blind?

"I want your autograph." He smirked, this would work perfectly.

Grumbling, she stuck her hand out for a pen, not looking too pleased.

He handed her a paper with words scribbled in a quick attempt to be legible.

She signed her name, her writing becoming slanted, leaning towards the bottom.

If he kept bothering her, she'd never figure out what was going on. She mumbled disjointedly while turning away from him in an attempt to find some solace.

Wow, Brooklyn though to himself. If this was how easy it was, then he could make her do loads of other things as well. He lay down on his bed, his feet still hanging over the edge of the bedside.

Arista, whose back was sore, turned again, leaning into his legs, causing warmth to spread between the proximity of her back and his legs. She made her self comfortable and prompted him to stop fidgeting. He complied in an unpleasant manner, simply letting it go rather than causing her to bicker at him.

She was quite a pleasant person when she wasn't arguing with him or pulling immature pranks on Ian or some one else. Maybe if he looked past her faults he could see she was a worthwhile person to have around.

Then again he could be wrong, he thought to himself.


	5. Snakes and Spiders

13 Shades of Grey

Snakes and Spiders

Disclaimer: I am surprised at you for reading this! Starting next chapter I will be giving you a quiz. Study hard and don't party too much.

Plot: A bet was made and Arista lost. Now she has to do whatever Brooklyn says for two weeks and she to help out in the kitchens for a week as well. But when she knocks him unconscious, he loses his memory. Its up to her to bring it back. Is she willing to help him? Maybe she likes him better this way. And maybe she doesn't want him to change back.

--

"Shahero!" Arista hissed, slamming down the lid of the box that Shahero was holding. Inside was a snake. They didn't know what kind it was, they just assumed that it wasn't poisonous because otherwise why would it have been at the school grounds? It had scraped its fangs along Shahero's wrist; which she was scratching at mercilessly.

Arista held a jar of spiders in her hand. She had moved it into the crook of her arm to keep it from falling. She wanted payback at Brooklyn, wanted to make him suffer just as much as she was in the kitchens.

Over the week she'd helped the kitchen staff scrub all the pots and pans, wash the floor, then wax it, and she'd been ordered to clean out the freezer. Unfortunately she'd somehow locked herself in there by accident a few times. The staff, no longer surprised by her loud wailing to be let free from the cold, had given her a key to the kitchens so she could get herself out without disturbing them.

She was snapped back to the present when someone pinched her arm lightly.

"Oi, the hell was that for?" She exclaimed rubbing the burning flesh while glaring daggers her female companion.

"You weren't listening to me."

"Right, okies."

Shahero rolled her indigo eyes. "Are we gunna do it stand around arguing all day?"

Arista mocked Shahero pretending to think that over before grinning toothily.

"Okay, which one is his bed?"

"Uhm, It's that one," she pointed to the bed by the window. "The corner one. The other one is Hitoshi's."

"Really?" There was a wily smirk on her lips. "Is he afraid of snakes?"

"Why?" Arista eyed the blunette. "You can't! Shahero! We have to get Dicklyn first, and then you get Hito's bed."

Shahero kept her gaze on the unmade bed, grinning. Arista punched her shoulder lightly so that Sen had to rub at it. She held onto the box with one hand while soothing her distressed arm.

The snakes' head popped out of the box and it slithered halfway out. Arista noticed and grabbed it's long green body and shoved it back in. Shahero closed the lid with Arista's hand still in it. The Russian yelped in pain as two fangs dug their way into her skin. Shahero dropped the box and Arista dropped the jar of spiders. It didn't shatter thanks to Shahero who caught it.

The snake dangled from Arista's wrist, she yanked at it but that only made it worse. The snakes' fangs sank in deeper. Arista hissed in pain; she yelled and finally pulled out the snake. It wiggled on the floor, slinking in an almost painful manner. She surveyed the damage, one fang was sunk into her wrist while the other was dangling from the snakes' mouth.

Shahero watched her, and looked down at her own grazed wrist. She rubbed at it; it was red and slightly swollen. Shahero set the jar on the floor and ran her fingers feather-light over Arista's wrist. A sharp intake of air flooded the silver haired females' lungs. Her breath hitched in her throat, her heart beat pounding stealthily.

"Aah..." She groaned. Shahero put her finger to the fang. It was covered in blood and dripping on to the carpet and their clothes. They were crouched down on the floor on their knees. She fingered the fang again, and started to pull at it.

"Stop it Hero, you're hurting me."

"I'm not trying to. I'm trying to get it out of you. Hold still, will you?" Shahero tugged at Arista's arm.

"No! Because it hurts and it'll hurt more if you pull at---Stop!" She yelled because Shahero was set at pulling it out. She slapped away at the oncoming hand and moved back.

"If I want to kill myself I'll let you know, then you can pull it out for me!" Arista said sort of angrily. She fingered the fang protruding from the outside of her palm, lightly tracing her finger around it. Shahero picked up the snake from the tail and slammed it into the box closing the lid afterwards. She huffed and glared at it annoyed.

The door opened and in stepped Brooklyn. He dropped his bag at the door after closing it, then surveyed the two females sitting in the centre of the room. He glanced from Shahero to Arista to the jar of spiders then back to Arista.

"Okay, now I'm feeling suicidal. You can kill me all you want." Arista held out her hand to Shahero. Blood oozed from the wound letting droplets fall everywhere.

Shahero opened her mouth but Brooklyn beat her to it.

"Shit, Belyaev! What the hell happened!" Worry was evident in his voice. He walked to them and kneeled down. He took a hold of her hand. His icy fingers trailed the fang to her wrist.

Shahero growled. "Don't worry Brooky-baby. She's fine, now, let me work my magic." She took a hold of Arista's hand as well.

"What happened?" Brooklyn looked up to meet Arista's gaze. He lowered it again and glanced at Shahero's hand. He trailed a finger over the red swell.

Arista's mouth opened and closed in a funny manner. She didn't know what to say or how to respond.

What could she say anyways? _'Oh, I'm fine. This here fang belongs to a snake in that box behind Shahero. I was planning on setting it loose in your dorm but I guess it had other plans. I have a jar of spiders too, I'm putting those in your bed_.'

Brooklyn looked up at her, waiting for an explanation. Arista just imitated a fish expression which was of no help. Shahero opened her mouth but he beat her again.

"Okay, since none of you will explain I'm going to assume you have a snake somewhere in here. It bit you and one of the fangs got left behind. Am I right? Or have you a fetish with sharp pointed objects..."

Shahero growled. "I was going to explain but you can assume whatever you want now because you won't let me talk anyways."

Shahero's hand tightened around Arista's wrist slightly, as Brooklyn's larger hand held her own swelled wrist.

"Here, let me take it out." He let go of Shahero noticing she wasn't in as much danger as Arista.

"What? Are you out of your fucking mind?" Arista squirmed away from him and moved back a few feet. He moved towards her, pushing her against the wall.

"I'm trying to help you."

"Well, what if I don't want your help? Huh? What are you going to do then?" She sneered and narrowed her eyes.

"I'm going to take it out anyways." He replied simply.

Shahero just sat back and watched because she was smart enough not to get involved.

"Who died and made you a doctor?"

"Me. Now sit and stop moving."

"No! You're not the boss of me! I can do what I want, when I want. Right now I want you to stop helping me." She slapped at him again with her good hand.

"I own you, so sit still."

He hissed in pain as she pinched his nose roughly. "Damn it, Belyaev!" He yelled.

She huffed angrily, "You don't own me until next week, remember?"

Arista being stubborn shoved him back and getting up started to walk away from him. She picked up the jar of spiders from the floor and exited the room. Shahero followed her along with Brooklyn trailing behind looking slightly annoyed.

Arista started to run down the hallway, but Shahero caught up to her and stopped her.

"Arista, you have to get that thing out of you. It could be poisonous you know." Worry was clear in her voice.

Arista sighed and nodded. "You have to get something for you too. Promise?"

She held out her pinkie finger.

Shahero stared at it, then linked her pinkie with Arista's. "Promise. Let's go."

Brooklyn sighed before he walked back to his room effectively slamming the door behind him.

--

"How am I supposed to play with a fucking bandage on my arm?"

She was sitting in the change room while Shahero changed into her hockey gear.

Arista sat on the bench scribbling into a book. It was a colouring book and she was colouring it in with Crayola markers. She smiled and held up the finished picture to show off to Shahero.

"Look, isn't it nice?"

Shahero viewed the picture, it was messily coloured in, there were parts that went over the lines. It was really messy and not very nice to look at.

Shahero smirked. "What happened to it?"

"Har har. I'm serious, anyways I can't colour because of the fucking stitches and bandages. I'm left handed."

Arista held up her left hand for emphasis. It was bandaged in white cloth, making it hard for her to move her hand around. Her right hand was perfectly fine though.

"I know. I just like to poke fun at others."

"Like yourself? You could because you look scary enough." Hitoshi's head appeared in full view through the door of the room.

"Fuck you." Shahero turned around away from his grinning face. She didn't want to admit it but he was definite eye-candy. She would just ignore that until she was ready to face it. Until she was ready to get over Brent cheating on her.

"Not enough time." He smirked wickedly. "We're starting the game, Johnny told me to collect you. Kai and Amber are choosing their teams. Hurry up."

"Are you sure you didn't volunteer?" Arista snickered.

Shahero rolled her eyes. And fumbled with the clasp on her helmet. When she couldn't get it closed Hitoshi stepped in and closed it for her. He stared into her blue eyes.

Shahero's legs seemed to get all jelly like when he looked at her like that.

"Don't you two look all comfortable."

"You have got to be kidding me."

Shahero narrowed her eyes and walked away from him. She stuck her tongue out at Arista and exited the change room.

Hitoshi turned to Arista. "You just have to ruin everything, don't you?"

"Yeah. It's my full time job. Now where did the tooth fairy get to with my money?" She glanced around furtively, irked when she didn't see any small flying objects.

He groaned and left the room after mussing up her hair.

"Screw you too." Arista called out after him, but all she heard was the sound of the closing door.

Since she didn't want to watch the game because she wasn't playing she decided she would colour some more until they came back. She coloured in two more pages when the idea hit her. Brooklyn was out there on the rink. His dorm was empty. No one would know if she went in. She still had the spiders in her dorm. No one would know if she even left the arena. She smirked.

"God bless my brain." She patted her head.

She snickered and shot out the door like a gun. She kept running down the hallways, up the stairs, down another hallway until she made it to her dorm. She opened the door and grabbed a jar off her dresser drawer. She pulled a packet of safety pins too.

Arista bolted down out of her room and down the hall. She sucked in air through her nose, and just to be sure no one was in the dorm she knocked first. She heard no answer and made her way in.

Empty. Good, that was what she'd wanted. She made her way over to Brooklyn's bed and pulled back the covers and the comforter.

She opened the lid on the jar full of spiders. One of them had died and there were several small spider webs clinging to the sides of the glass jar. She slid her hand in and plucked out a small black spider. She replaced the lid back on the jar and set it aside.

She reached into the black pillow cover and was careful not to kill the insect when she slipped it inside. She did the side with the safety pins she'd grabbed from her room. She grinned and reset the pillow down on the bed. She slipped another spider under the sheets and folded them down so that it couldn't escape.

There was the dead spider and another one spinning a web. She plucked out the web and spider together. She left this one under the comforter and smirked. That would show him. No one was the boss of Arista Dymitri Belyaev. She wiped her hand on the side of her checked skirt and closed the lid.

Mission accomplished.

She casually walked out the door and down the stairs. She'd left the spider jar in the stairs to save her a trip to her dorm. She was tired and walked sluggishly down the stairs and into the kitchens.

No one was in there so she decided to knick some food. She walked in and made her way to the iron freezer door. Pulling out her key and unlocking the door she pulled on the iced handle. Her hand stuck to it. She used her bandaged hand to pull at her cold hand.

Somehow through it the door opened. She stuck her foot in between the door and the wall so she wouldn't get locked inside again. After flicking on the light, Arista reached in and grabbed at a box of Popsicles. She pulled out a rainbow coloured one wrapped in plastic paper.

She held on to it and put the box away, she closed the door. Smiling she unwrapped it and put it in her mouth. She opened her mouth to find her tongue stuck to it. She pulled at it but it was no use.

"Thath wilth teash mee."

Arista fumbled to hold on to the Popsicle, while her other hand was splashing water at her mouth from the tap. It came loose from her mouth, and she sighed in relief. She ran her tongue over her teeth and shivered, her lips were red .

"Cold."

Arista walked out of the kitchens and back into the change room. Surprisingly enough she hadn't bumped into a single soul on the way. She glanced at the clock and noticed that only around a half hour had gone by.

She decided that she would watch the rest of the game. There was only around ten minutes left before lunch was over. She sucked her Popsicle and watched her mates skate around the ice.

She could see Hitoshi right behind Shahero, she smirked. He had it bad for her and she didn't even know. Or she did and pretended not to notice. Or maybe she just didn't care. Or, Arista thought skeptically, she liked him too but didn't know it. Maybe she needed more time to get over Brent. Yeah that made sense. Shahero hadn't seen anyone since she'd broken up with Brent. Or could you call it that since he cheated on her and then tried to rape her.

Being Shahero she hadn't gone to the police about it and had just beaten the crap out of Brent instead. With unnecessary help from her friends.

On the ice Shahero slammed her hockey stick behind her in between Hitoshi's feet causing him to trip over. He banged his helmeted head onto the floor and groaned. She was fiery. He would give her that, but she would see it his way soon enough. Besides she'd even started flirting with him. She just didn't know it.

He grinned and got up going after her again. He sped up and skated circles around her. Shahero roughed him and moved in front of him. She sped past Amber, Tala, Ian, Aspin and the others who were passing the puck to each other.

She looked behind her for Hitoshi, but she couldn't see him.

His voice spoke from in front of her. "Looking for someone?"

"No, I'm looking for bug repellent though. There's a bug in that won't go away. They just seem to be around everywhere."

That only made his grin wider. "Yeah? I've heard about it, haven't seen any myself." He was skating backwards now. "Oh, wait. I think I see one now." He patted her head. "It's you."

"Don't I feel special." She muttered under her breath. Then she checked him into the boards and sped up in front of him, pulling a face.

"Two can play at that game."

Hitoshi skated rapidly; closing the gap between himself and Shahero. He was skating so fast he didn't know she'd stopped and was talking to Arista at the sidelines.

He bumped straight into her, not stopping in time. Shahero felt the wind whoosh out of her lungs while she got knocked to the cool hard ice. She landed on her side, her distressed hand underneath her and Hitoshi on top of her. She groaned and yelped when she felt the needle pinpricks of pain in her hand, reminding her of the following day.

"Oh, fuck it. Ge' off me, damn it!"

"No. I rather like the position we're in."

"You know, you could take her right here, right now." Brooklyn piped up from behind them. He had seen it all coming and snickered at the females misfortune.

"Shut it, Dicklyn." Arista snapped at him.

He looked over the bandage on her hand, but didn't say anything.

"What are you guys doing?" Tala swerved around the bodies, and stood in front of them. "You can't have it here on the ice. It's too cold. Do it somewhere else."

"We're not! So just shut the fuck up!" Shahero struggled under the weight of the heavier male. She propped herself on her elbows because he was straddling her hips.

"You," She poked him hard in the chest with her good hand, "probably broke my wrist." She held up the lightly bandaged hand, which had swelled at least half it's normal size for emphasis. "Now get off me or I'll have to hurt you."

"I'd like to see you try." He replied arrogantly. She opened her mouth to speak but she was cut off.

"Shut up." Hitoshi said calmly.

She rolled her eyes. "Make me."

"Gladly." He lowered his head, but was pulled back by Miyami, and Amber.

"Hey!" He yelled, he was thrown to his back and slid a few feet farther. "What did you do that for?"

"Because you're crushing her lungs and esophagus."

"I didn't know you knew such big words." Kai said lightly in Ambers direction.

"I know a lot more, but my fists talk better than I do." She stepped closer towards him, balled her fists.

He raised his eyebrow mockingly.

"What? You haven't said one word to me all week, you didn't accept my apology and now you want to fight?"

"Amber." Johnny placed his hands on her shoulders. "Kai, you know it was an accident."

"Yeah." Miyami agreed. "She didn't even know we were going to be there."

"Uh-huh. She was too busy trying to kill me to get a shot in at you purposely." Ian deadpanned.

"I wasn't exactly finished with you. Are you saying you want another round?" Amber snapped her gaze to meet the dark one of Ian's.

"I can breathe again." Shahero spoke up, she coughed a bit for drama, then regained her composure, stood up.

"Yeah, I thought we might have to do mouth to mouth on you. God knows that that's more painful than getting beaten up." Kane snickered and leaned on the sedge of the boards.

Aspin doused him with slap to the back of his head. Why was he such a jerk to everyone else?

Miyami clucked her tongue. "If it was you I don't know who'd want to because you must eat garlic for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Kane hissed. "I vant to suck your blood." He bared his teeth and made his way to Miyami's neck.

"Oi, suck Aspin's neck instead!" Amber led him towards the purple haired female. Kai watched her and inwardly groaned. He wanted to believe so badly that she'd really meant it that she was sorry. It just didn't look that way.

Shahero laughed. "He's not the only vampire." Hitoshi picked his prey and bared his teeth.

"Oh yeah? Suck this!" In one swift movement Shahero had grabbed Arista's half-eaten Popsicle and shoved it into Hitoshi's mouth.

"Hey! I was going to eat that!" Arista protested. "Great, and now it's all gone to waste." She grumbled as purple slush fell to the floor.


	6. Stuck in a Rut

13 Shades of Grey

Stuck in a Rut

Disclaimer: I was just kidding in the last installment. No quizzes. Haha, anyways, Arista's mine, Amber is Zadien's, as per Ruin as well, Shahero is Coors', Miyami is Sun-Thiefs', Sonia is Sae's, Aspin is Animerle's. Beyblade is © to Takao Aomi

--

Monday morning came with rain and sleet. The weekend had passed by quickly enough. Arista and Miyami had sewn pillow covers for their Home Ec. projects. They were supposed to make pillowcases and then go out this coming weekend to fill them up with shower and hygiene crap. It was worth five per cent of their final mark, in the end they would donate the loaded pillowcases to a homeless shelter.

Arista had sewn on stars and stripes made of felt to decorate hers. Miyami had made hers plain and then gotten other students to sign it saying random stuff. The rest of the Saturday was spent buying candy from in town. Arista had gotten an extra large supply of pixie sticks. She'd once compared Amber to a Pixie, she remembered. Amber said that when she grew wings and had pointed ears that she could call her a pixie. Arista had replied by saying that she didn't need wings and pointed ears, she was funny looking as it was.

Amber had replied with something rude, to which they'd had a fight. But the day after they'd made up and apologized. They also both gotten streaks in their hair. Every time Arista bought the sugar sticks she was reminded of her loud mouth and opinions. She laughed every time she remembered this. To her it seemed funny. Maybe not to Amber.

On Sunday Arista had stayed in her dorm all day pretending to be sick because she was avoiding Brooklyn like the plague. Her two weeks of slavery started the next day.

Sonia had brought her lunch that had consisted of lasagna and grape juice. Arista had said she was fine because she still had an indefinite supply of sugar under her mattress. Sonia had left saying she was meeting up with Ozuma to plan out the school dance. The two were prefects and she in turn was reminded of Harry Potter.

All afternoon she'd ignored pretty much everyone else too. Rei had come in to check up on her. She'd talked to him, but hadn't told him everything that was on her mind.

Miyami had also checked up on her, she'd just come back from getting her ears pierced again, her hands were full of shopping bags. Her wallet was no doubt empty. Shahero and Amber had gone with Tala and Johnny to film a movie. They'd gone to the Skate Park so they could film Shahero skateboarding and Amber rollerblading all around the ramps and set-ups. It was part of a film contest going on at Vaughn Academy.

Ian had come in to prank them back for the Itching powder. Arista hadn't noticed him because she was too busy sleeping. He'd wanted revenge so he'd put itching powder in Arista's bed and in her clothes. She was a light sleeper but she must have taken a pill because he had tripped over a pile of clothes on the floor and she hadn't even stirred.

Now Arista was sitting in English class, fifth period, and she was itching like crazy. She scratched at her arms and legs. A few of her classmates were staring at her. She stared back and kept scratching.

She was scratching so hard she had peeled her skin in a few places revealing blood. Leaving behind small scars. She groaned and started to rub her skin instead so that it wouldn't break and scar further.

She looked at her arm, stretched it out. She'd thrown off her school jacket and hung it on the back of her chair. She rolled down her socks until they were just rolls of baggy cloth at her ankles. Her black and silver sneakers were tied loosely and almost fell every time she took a step. She decided to just take them off, she was seated at the back near an open window. She had two whole desks to herself because her classmates assumed Ian had gotten her back.

Arista sighed and hit her head on the top of her desk. When she looked up she saw a teal haired boy sitting next to her.

She vaguely remembered Shahero describing someone who fitted his profile with her in detention.

He smiled at her. She stared back expressionless. "Hi, I'm Zeo."

"Yeah. I'm Arista. Nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand and grinned.

He clasped her warm hand and smiled again. She was pretty he decided. Her silver hair was swung into a low ponytail at the back of her head. Bangs fluttered and hung over her forehead. She had a small cute nose, and small lips. Her cheeks were flushed a light shade of red.

She looked away from him and scratched at her arms again. He continued to look at her, she noticed him out of the corer of her eye.

"What?" She asked impatiently. He quirked a brow at her. "I mean what are you staring at?"

"The spider in your hair." He replied casually and turned towards the front.

She narrowed her eyes and scowled. "Yeah, and pigs can fly."

Her gaze tore to the door and she saw Tyson jumping. Hillary was behind him with a tennis racket hitting him. She hit his behind and he yelped jumping up, he flailed his arms giving the impression he was flying.

"Correction, pigs _can_ fly." Arista muttered under her breath. Zeo didn't seem to notice. She shrugged one shoulder and watched Hillary leave after tripping Tyson on the floor.

"Oh man, she is difficult. She needs to take a chill pill."

Arista smirked. Tyson made his way towards the back near Arista. He grabbed an empty chair from the stack at the back an set it down in front of Arista's desk.

He pulled out a packet of gum and slipped a piece in his mouth. He offered one to Arista who took it, Zeo refused with a 'No thanks'.

"Your loss."

"What did you do now Ty-Ty?" Arista asked her cousin. She was related to him because of her relationship to Miyami or at least something like that anyways.

"I didn't do anything."

"He put those pop up snakes in her locker." Zeo replied smirking smugly.

"You know him?" Arista pointed towards Tyson.

"Yeah. He and I are friends."

"Zeo meet Arista, Arista meet---Arista, what are you doing?"

Tyson stared in bafflement as Arista scratched violently at her arm, careful not to irritate her bandaged hand.

"I'm feeling myself. What does it look like?"

Tyson rolled his eyes. "Amber's the Queen of Sarcasm. Why don't you be a princess or something?'

"Because then I'd be her daughter. Which is wrong because it just is. Amber with a kid is wrong. She's a kid herself. I'm a _self _proclaimed Queen of Sarcasm."

"You should stick with Queen of Misunderstanding. Or better yet Queen of Shit, because that's what you look like right now."

Arista didn't even look back to know who it was but Brooklyn. Turning around she rolled her eyes and didn't say anything. She stuck up her middle finger.

He persisted. "What's the matter? Are you all tongue-tied?"

"I am now from biting back vomit from having seen your face."

He brushed off the comment. Good, she was still talking to him. He thought she'd died because he hadn't seen her all weekend. He wanted to get back at her for putting the spiders in his bed. How she'd done it without him finding out was beyond him. She'd done a lot of pranks and it had infuriated him because he couldn't stop her. It was seriously staring to get him pissed.

"How come your such a dick?" Tyson inquired earnestly.

Brooklyn ignored his comment watching said boy as he looked around for the bane of his existence.

"Scared of a girl, Kinomiya?"

"Hillary isn't a girl. She's a---a he-she. And she has her period 24/7."

Arista snorted. "That's like a walking talking...Brooklyn!" She snickered and stopped hacking away with her fingers at her skin for a few seconds.

Brooklyn sneered at the back of her silver head and growled.

Childishly he flicked balls of paper at Arista through class. And constantly tapped at her chair. She didn't seem to notice because she was scratching away at her skin, either that or she ignored him.

"Mr. London? Can I leave class early because I can't stop scratching. I swear Ian Petrovich did it. I saw him come into my dorm yesterday but I was to sleepy to care. Can I be excused? I think he put Itching powder in my clothes because I helped do the exact same…"

She stopped and cursed herself. "Shitter bugs." She clasped her hands over her mouth and sighed.

Mr. London was lost for words, so instead he opened a drawer from his desk and pulled out a pink slip. He scribbled something on it and handed it to Arista as she walked up to his desk. She stared at the ceiling and leered at it, irked.

"This is all your fault." She shook her fist and walked out of the door.

"Can I be excused?" Brooklyn asked from the back of the class.

London raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"I have a meeting with a career counselor." London bought it and nodded his head.

Brooklyn knew if he wanted to talk to Arista he would have to do it now. He got up and walked out the door of the classroom.

Zeo watched them both leave wondering if the redhead was really going to go to a career counselor. He very much doubted it.

--

Amber cleared her throat. Lately it was getting harder for her to talk. She hadn't eaten anything since lunch and that was only water and a chicken sandwich. She sighed and rubbed at her throat. If this kept up she would lose her voice. Amber ran down the hallway towards the water fountain and gulped in water to her parched throat.

It felt cool and good against her warming insides. A few droplets spattered to the floor. She ignored that and took another drink of it. When she was done she made her way to the library with hopes of getting her history paper finished.

She wasn't happy. Why? Because she hadn't said anything to Kai. It was getting her all riled up that he wouldn't accept her apology all because he had too much fucking pride. His ego was the size of Europe if he thought she hadn't meant it. She did, she was sorry from her heart because in all honestly she didn't mean to hurt him. And it would have never been to break his nose. She screwed up her eyes, and shook her head.

She felt shitty and all because Kai was being an asshole. If they were friends it would have been different. But they were anything but friends. Enemies made perfect sense. But she was tired of it. Tired of always fighting with him and tired of hating him. She wanted to be his friend because then she and Tala and Kai could all be comfortable around each other.

Tala and Kai were best friends, just like Amber and Tala. It wasn't fair that Kai could just come and steal him away. This was Tala. She and him had bathed together. They'd known each other since they were babies. They'd learned how to crawl together.

And she missed him. Even though Tala was always beside her, and always with her she still missed him. Didn't that sound psychotic. How could you miss someone so much when they were right beside you?

She continued towards the library contemplating on her thoughts. She wanted to just go to someone and tell them all her problems. But who could she tell? She didn't want to talk. How could she without a voice? At least that was what it felt like because her throat was hoarse and she could hardly string together three words.

If she just pushed these thoughts in a corner of her mind, she wouldn't have to think about it, she mused. She could just let things cool off for another few days. That usually helped. It was her best chance anyways. She really wanted to spend more time with Tala, but lately she'd been holding out on her best friend because of Kai.

Amber eyes narrowed. She sucked in air through her teeth and slumped her shoulders. Maybe locking this away would be much better than thinking about it. Ignoring it would help her because she didn't know what to make of the situation anyways.

She opened the double doors leading into the library and stepped in.

It was nearly empty when she went inside. She deliberately made her way towards the back and sat down at an empty table. A few tables away from her a teacher was printing out something from a computer. There was a scanner, and a photocopier off to the side.

Amber grinned and looked around in her school bag for the picture that Miyami had drawn. She found it and smoothed it out, the edges and corners were somewhat flat now. She ran her hands on it, then walked over to the photocopier and lifted the top. She slid the paper under it and pushed a few command buttons on the panel at the side. It was large and grey.

Paper started to come out from the side of the machine. Amber moved around it and looked over the newly printed pages. Ian was going to get it for putting such a disgusting image in her head. She snickered and put it down.

Behind her someone tapped her shoulder. Amber turned around an excuse already in her head to why she was copying pages and pages of a drawing.

"I was just---oh, hey Ruin."

She glanced at the female, she had short black hair that rested a few centimeters above her shoulders. Black bangs were choppily clouded over chocolate brown eyes. Streaks of red and blue adorned her hair. There was a gem under her left eyebrow and one on her left nostril. She was wearing the school uniform, along with black combat boots. Her tie was strung around her waist, and hung down to mid thigh. Her black tartan skirt was longer than regulation going just past her kneecaps. The first two buttons on her white button down shirt were undone, and a black tank top was visible underneath.

Her lips were coated with black, and her eyes were surrounded with black as well. Amber couldn't believe her eyes.

"Need I ask what you're doing?"

"You'll see." Ambers eyes lit up with joy as a ping sounded signaling the photocopies were done. She picked up a piece of paper, handed it to Ruin before getting the pile on the floor.

Ruin's eyes filled with laughter, the corners of her mouth rising slightly in amusement.

--

Brooklyn easily caught up to Arista in the hallway. There was a class walking down and into another classroom. Other than that it was empty.

Arista sidestepped. She growled when he sidestepped closer to her.

"What do you want?"

"You really want to know? Okay, I want you to stop fucking ruining everything of mine!"

"And why should I stop? Because you want me to? I don't think so, Ginger."

Brooklyn narrowed his eyes. "Ginger?"

"You hair is red, and beside it suits you better because there is actually a city named Brooklyn, and your name shouldn't be that anyway. Ginger suits you better."

"And how long did it take you to come up with that?" He sneered.

She ignored him, and walked quicker. "What do you want besides what you said before?" She stopped and turned around waiting for an answer. She scratched at her arms again.

He rolled his eyes. "Stop that. You'll ruin your skin."

"And why do you care?" She shot back not looking up.

"I don't." He replied automatically.

"So stop telling me what to do, then."

"You have such a bad memory."

She looked up and practically radiated anger. His eyes locked on hers amusedly.

"And you have such stinky breath. Get a breath mint. Or better yet get a whole pack of them." She started her way downstairs after opening the stair door and walking in. He followed her and stopped her by blocking her way down.

He stopped and breathed in the air in front of her. Then breathed out in front of her face. The cool breath fanned against her face smelling distinctly like vanilla. She stared at him confused, raised her eyebrows.

"What are you doing?"

"You said I needed a breath mint, do you still think so?"

"Ah, I don't know and I don't care."

"So what does it smell like?"

"Vanilla or something." Her stomach rumbled. "Aye, I'm hungry. It's all your fault. I want pie." Her eyes lit up then darkened. "But first I have to go to the office and get lectured."


	7. Why Do You Do Me This?

13 Shades of Grey

Why Do You Do Me This?

-O-

Mr. Gerro lectured Arista for only five minutes because he had a board meeting to discuss. She was glad it wasn't long because listening to him was like listening to a static-filled radio station you just couldn't tune out. It was boring to say the least. And he always spoke in a monotonous tone.

She would have fallen asleep right there and then but that would only get her another week's worth of detentions. She already had a week with London because of her big mouth. Someone down there in Hell must like me, she thought to herself. As soon as Gerro left she slowly walked out the door, scuffing her shoes on the waxed tiled floor to get skid marks on it. She grinned when she saw at least three black marks streaking after her footsteps.

She spotted Brooklyn waiting for her in the hallway outside the office doors. The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. "What do you want now?"

"To talk."

"We've been through that already."

"Just listen."

"And why should I?"

She sneered at him and started walking. He walked alongside her, his long legs keeping a casual gait.

"Why do you do me this?" She threw up her hands exasperated, and cursed. "Blast it. You won't go away will you?" She eyed him and frowned. She slowed to a stop.

"Like I said, to talk."

"Okay. _Fine_." She spat out gruffly.

She walked out the front doors to the school and sat down on the steps leading inside. He sat as close as he possibly could, causing much discomfort to the Russian female.

"What do you want to 'talk' about?"

He stared at the green, green grass still covering the ground. "I---"

"Wait! I have to ask you something."

He raised an eyebrow and stared at her in mock interest.

"I... Can we work out and agreement so that it's not two weeks?"

Perfect opportunity, he grinned. "And why would I do that?"

He would notify her of the changes later.

"Well, it's a hell of a long time." Then she added, "Please?"

He wanted to shout for joy because she was just setting herself up. "I'm only too pleased to tell you that it's actually more than that. It's _four_ weeks." He watched her eyes narrow, something in them glinted.

"What the hell are you on about?" She stood up briskly and turned around.

He held on to her wrist so she couldn't get away. "Look, you signed this."

Arista opened her mouth to retort something but she shut it when he showed her the slip of paper.

"What?" She shrugged out of his grip, and sat down again, though farther away from where she was originally sitting.

Arista's mouth fell open, and her jaw was stretched out so that it hung down.

I could stuff a gobstopper or a jawbreaker in there. Brooklyn snickered at the thought.

He tapped his finger to her jaw closing it for her.

"I---You---I don't...want to...I mean, when?" She looked at him and held his bluish eyes with hers.

She looked so childlike, her eyes wide. He had a sudden urge to pat her head and tell her it would all get better. He narrowed his eyes and looked away.

She turned away and looked at her shoes. They were scuffed at the sides and were smeared in mud and dirt. Her eyes saddened.

"Can we settle it to be the first week of every month?"

Brooklyn eyed her before nodding. "Yeah, okay."

"Okay."

She sat there and let silence slip in between her and Brooklyn. They heard a bell ring in the distance.

The school day was over for today. Arista got up and walked towards the school doors, she pulled at one but it didn't open. "Fucking door, why won't it open?"

"Because it's a push door, smartass."

She stuck her tongue out at him and folded her arms against her chest. "Kiss my ass."

"I would, but you have none." He smirked and pushed at the door. She growled out in anger and annoyance.

"You're such an ass jack."

"You're a loud mouth that's temperamental."

"You're a freak of nature!"

He pushed at the door again but it didn't budge. "Why won't it fucking open?"

"It's stuck... Wait, the doors automatically lock after three-thirty. Oh fuck, fuck, fuck. "This is _not_ my day."

"At least it's not raining." Brooklyn added sort of sympathetically.

Arista glared at him and heard a distant rumble of thunder. In a instant a downpour of rain had started. Arista started towards the back of the school. She looked up at mostly closed dorm windows. She saw an open one and looked around for a tree. Luckily enough the school had planted trees surrounding the back of the school near the windows.

She ran towards the tree, soaking wet. Brooklyn ran after her through the rain. His white shirt was already sopping wet and his black trousers were being whipped by the wind.

She started up the tree but had no luck because she was much too short to reach the first branch.

Brooklyn sighed and pulled her back. He put his hands together in a foothold and waited for her to climb up.

Arista's face was of disbelief. "One; look," she pointed to her arm. "Two: I'm wearing a skirt." She deadpanned at the red-headed youth.

"All the more reason to." He replied with a slight smirk.

"Yeah right!" She smacked him upside the head. She walked around him and jumped on his back, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"I choose you, Brooklyn…mon! Now climb!" She commanded swiftly while laughing on his shoulder. She put her arms around his neck and held tightly.

Her wet clothes clung to him like glue while she started singing, or rather belting for the world to hear.

"Well, I don't know much. And I don't how... Why did she put me through such torture! I would have given my life for her! Now I'm alone sitting on the corner!" She sang at the top of her lungs. Brooklyn had to admit it sounded somewhat nice. Her Russian accent gave the song an edge.

He grabbed onto the first branch and started to climb up. Arista continued singing. "Well, I looked at her face. And then I knew she changed. Yeah, my heart turned black and the sky turned grey! Yeah, My heart turned black and then the sky turned grey!"

She continued to sing the parts she knew while Brooklyn climbed up the tree.

--

Miyami sat on her bed sewing up a pillowcase for Shahero while she took a bath. It had a picture of a dragon artistically drawn on it with fabric paints, she accidentally pricked her finger and yelped in surprise. Her thoughts had run away with her again. And they were constantly on Johnny, the red-headed Scot. She sighed and went to the bathroom to get some toilet paper. She raised her silver brows at Shahero sitting on the floor. She had paper on her nose, trickling tiny red splotches.

"Are you ok?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just slipped on the tiles."

Miyami surveyed the wet, soap covered floor. "It was like that when you went in?" She questioned.

"I don't know. I just go in, get wet, and come out. How am I supposed to know?"

"You mean you don't even wash yourself properly?" Hitoshi poked his head through the door way of the washroom.

Shahero was flustered and her breath was heavy. She was wearing a black tank top, and white boxer shorts with hockey sticks on them. Her blue hair was sopping wet, her sapphire eyes were narrowed in his direction. She pulled a sweatshirt from the clothes hamper and slipped it on because she felt oddly uncomfortable.

Her nose had stopped bleeding, but her face was a shade of deep red.

"At least I take a bath." She shot back. "I don't know about anyone else, but you smell really bad."

"Yeah, while everyone else thinks I smell just fine."

"That's because everyone else doesn't know a bad smell if it's shoved up their nose!" She growled and walked out of the washroom.

Miyami washed her hands then put a bandage on it. It was red and blue. Spider-Man 2 was written across it in black writing.

"Hey, I want one of those!" Arista ran into the washroom and looked around for the box of bandages.

"Where did you come from?" Shahero asked surprised.

"My mom's vaginal region." Came the honest reply.

Hitoshi made a face. Shahero scrunched her nose.

Brooklyn walked exhaustedly into the room. "Belle, if we wanted to know about the birds and the bees then we'd go and ask an expert."

"Namely you." Miyami retorted.

"Fuck off." Arista bent down and fished around in the cabinet for the bandages. "Mimi!" She complained. "Where did you put them?"

Miyami threw the box from her hands behind her hoping someone would catch them. She knew what Arista would do if she got a hold of them. "I don't have them."

Arista sat crossed legged on the bathroom floor and closed the cabinet doors. "Uhm, where are they?" Even though she already knew the answer she still asked.

Brooklyn smirked. He held the band-aid box in his hands. He shook it just to make sure it wasn't empty then stuffed it into his wet pants pocket.

Hitoshi watched Shahero brush out her hair. She was pulling it so hard, hair was sticking to the brush like fire spreading. He walked over and pulled it from her hands.

"Sit." He commanded.

She rolled her eyes and sat down on the floor near the end of a bed. Hitoshi sat at the edge of the matt and ran the brush through her hair. He smoothed her hair back into it's silky mane. She growled loudly when he worked out an extremely stubborn tangle. She cursed him and punched at his leg.

He glowered at the top of her head, while he brushed her hair effortlessly. He ran his fingers through her hair. She moved away hesitantly. He pulled her back so that she was leaning against his legs, and held her there.

"Your hair smells good." He murmured into her ear. She fought the urge to laugh because it was tickling her. Shahero bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders.

"Hitoshi, stop trying to eat Hero's hair." Arista said. She jumped on him, dripping water on him and Shahero. She was still wet from the rain outside.

The lights flashed on and off, thunder cackled and whipped in the distance.

"Give me the bandages." Arista struggled with Hitoshi for the box she knew he didn't have.

She had some very minor cuts on her from Brooklyn's none-too pleasant climb from the tree. Her legs were showing signs of red in places. And not to mention the leaves and twigs in her hair.

"I don't have it, Ari, get off me!"

Arista had latched herself on to his leg, Shahero had stepped back to watch the film, snickering every few seconds.

Hitoshi shook his leg. He was much taller than his cousin, she didn't even come up to his collar bone. "Get off."

"Incest?" Brooklyn's eyes had taken on a green tint. He scowled and then crossed his arms over his chest.

Arista laughed so hard she fell on the ground, her body hitting the floor with a dull thud.

"Owies!"

Shahero doubled over at the comical scene. A ghost of a smile flickered over Brooklyn's lips. Miyami chuckled lightly in accordance to the scene, while Hitoshi smoothed out his pant leg.

--

Kai groaned and rubbed his nose. It had pretty much healed but it was still sore. Although his voice sounded slightly nasal, he was pretty much fine. Or at least he would be if Amber didn't consume every molecule of his brain.

Frustrated with himself because he couldn't stop thinking about her he slammed his fist on his thigh and ran a hand through his blue hair. He rubbed his face and lowered his body onto himself. Slate blue bangs overshadowed his eyes and most of his face.

He was leaning against the wall of the main boys wash room on the first floor. He slid down to the floor, his body made contact with the lino of the identically tiled floor.

He remembered when he and Amber were little kids. He'd always help her and keep her safe from harm. She always smiled when she saw him, and her eyes lit up when he entered a room. Her eyes still lit up, only this time with anger or hatred. Now it was different. When her dad left she had started to blame him for that and everything else too, he figured.

It had saddened him and at first he didn't know why, then he'd understood. She'd needed someone to yell and scream at because she didn't want to think it was her fault. Not that it was. Amber hadn't done anything to make her dad leave. She didn't want to think that, or perhaps she had and needed someone to blame instead of herself. Kai had never really quite figured it out.

She was complicated. But that was her. She was a jigsaw puzzle and half the pieces were missing. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fucking fair.

But what could he do? He was in…

Love?

It flashed like a lightening bolt in his brain. He loved her. Damn it, he knew that. He'd always had, just that now it was more than a sister figure kind of love. Hell, it had been since puberty had reared it's ugly head.

Kai frowned and shook his head. He closed his arms around his knees and drew himself together. Everything would be normal again when he went to collage. Only two years. Two bad he didn't only have one like Hitoshi.

But when he went to collage could he really forget all about Amber? Somehow he doubted it.

He didn't need her.

He didn't.

"I don't need you!" He screamed out.

A boy with copper brown hair walked out into the boys washroom, stared at Kai with raised eyebrows and a confused expression.

"What?"

Growling, Kai got up and exited the washroom, slamming the door after him.

He was going to have a little talk with Amber.

--

Arista sat sorting through the junk that was laid out in plain sight of her and Hitoshi. The latter being there so he could catch a glimpse of his favorite blunette. Tala and Ruin were nowhere to be seen, and everyone else had pretty much dispersed.

Amber sat on her bed, her blanket enveloping her, she hadn't seen Kai all day, and she was glad. She was still miffed at him for not believing her. Her black, bullion streaked hair was open, hanging to her shoulders. Her small but full lips were parted slightly, and her eyebrows were raised emphasizing her tawny eyes. They were currently fixed on the two on the floor.

Hitoshi made a comment about some underwear he'd found, assuming it to be Shahero's, only to have Arista hit him disgruntled at what was a present for Aspin from Kane.

The door, left open purposely by Hitoshi, creaked gently as another student stepped in.

Kai glanced around noticing Hitoshi and Arista on the floor, bickering while trying to do some cleaning. Then he found Amber on her bed, he gazed unblinkingly, while walking closer to her.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Amber waved her hand in front of his face. He didn't even blink. He stared into her confused ochre eyes, then lowered his gaze to her mouth as she talked with him listening to her absently.

"Have you come to tell you finally got some sense knocked into you?"

Kai could vaguely make out her voice, but he didn't understand anything she was saying.

In one swift movement he crushed his lips to hers and put his hand on the sweetly venerable curve of her neck. He pulled her closer to him and held her there, running his tongue on the curves of her lips, only to have her part them eagerly.

She sighed into his mouth and arched her back as her pulse exploded inside and her heart beat erratically.

Kai, having waited for so long, pulled her even closer if possible. One hand was circled around her smaller back, while his other hand twirled the hairs on the nape of her neck leaving a warm, pleasant burning sensation on her skin.

When he pulled her deeper into the kiss she wrapped an arm around his neck. The other framing his jaw. As seconds ticked away into minutes they were fast running out of air.

He let her go aversely so the two of them could breathe.

Amber's eyes widened in complete shock as what had just happened registered to her mind. Kai's eyes gleamed happily for the first time in days, this wasn't quite the reaction he'd hoped for, but he hadn't expected to do this either.

Amber breathed heavily trying to regain her senses. "What just… happened?"


	8. Start Something

13 Shades of Grey

Start Something

--

Amber breathed heavily trying to regain her senses. "What just… happened?"

In a daze, she moved from her bed to the floor, sitting cross-legged with her elbows resting on her knees. Her hands framed her face, letting hair spill wildly in front of her eyes and around her face. He too folded his legs underneath him as he sat down across from her, reaching out a hand. He stroked Amber's cheek before pushing stray bangs out from her face. He couldn't see her eyes and therefore didn't know what she was thinking. Her bronze skin seemed to glow, he noticed.

A wave of silence had washed over them causing much discomfort. Kai's hand rested on Amber's face, cupping it. He made to pry her hands apart. But her voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Stop…?"

She was scared or frightened. He knew that the way her voice shook. He always loved her voice, the way it held a Celtic ring to it. When she was angry or frustrated it took on a jagged edge. When she was saying certain words her tongue would roll or hold them longer. It wasn't like that. He couldn't hear the Celtic ring; all he heard was the rejection in her tone.

Although not moving his hand, it was frozen in spot to support her chin. His other hand rested on her hands.

Slowly she lowered her hands, along with his, into her lap. His hands were warm against her, blazing with heat, making her body tingle at his touch.

He sucked in breath through his teeth and waited. He waited for her to do something, say something, even snap at him. But nothing. He started to pull his hand away from hers, only to have her retain it in a firm, pleasant grip. Hitoshi and Arista had long since abandoned them, giving them space and privacy. After all, it was their soap and they should work it out.

Kai's stomach twisted and his gut churned.

_Why was she just sitting there?_

Amber was quiet, she didn't utter a single word. A state of shock had completely taken over her mind. It wasn't everyday Kai Hiwatari, her supposed enemy, kissed her. If he'd liked her then he would have acted in his feelings before, not now. Or maybe he didn't like her and only wanted to hurt her. Yeah, that was the only explanation. Ether that or brain sucking aliens had switched his brain for someone else's.

"Well hell." She murmured under her breath.

Oh well, better get it over with, she suggested to herself. No time like the present.

Suffocated. That was what Kai felt. Suffocated by Amber. She was everywhere, and her scent was always with him. Though how he didn't know. The floral scent always took his senses. And he couldn't get it out of him, couldn't get away from her. Two years was a hell of a lot when he thought about it, and not long enough to rid his brain of the Imp. Or long enough for his heart to forget her. No, things could never be the way they were. Not as long as she was here at Vaughn.

When Amber lowered her hands, she was staring into depths of mahogany. She was so entranced by his eyes. They were beautiful and deep, she could swim in them and lose herself. Kai's eyes locked on her ochre ones, he held her gaze. He watched the battle of emotions in her glassy eyes.

Amber found herself losing control. His eyes were just so damn gorgeous that she couldn't bear to look away. She couldn't, for the life of her, figure out how Hiwatari's mind worked. It was so confusing.

Kai's gaze lowered to her lips. Full and cherry red. Amber lowered her gaze to the floor, what was she supposed to do now?

She didn't have to answer, seeing as her brain went foggy and shut off again as her senses dulled when Kai's lips claimed hers for a second time. She melted in his arms, sighing drunkenly when he lifted his mouth. She smelled in the scent of him, dark vanilla and musk.

Kai smirked when she fell back into his arms, limp but still conscious. It gave him some satisfaction to know that he affected her too.

--

Arista put on her headphones and jumped around banging her head along to the voice of Ian Watkins and the rest of the Lost Prophets.

_Start today, now show us how you feel  
Make your way, it's time to choose  
Have my say, I know, I know what I see  
Have my say, they think you'll lose_

Brooklyn rolled his eyes. At least now he wouldn't have to listen to her ranting about he how was the reincarnate of the devil, he thought. Often times he wanted to glue her lips shut, then tie up her arms and legs so she couldn't go anywhere, or do anything. That he'd pay to see. Arista was always so energetic and eager to do stuff, maybe that was why she always got her foot in her mouth. She just did stuff impulsively without thinking about the responsibilities or the consequences. She got into a lot of trouble for it later on though. Something he liked about her, because he didn't have to do much to embarrass her.

_For all this to mean so much to me  
For all this, you make a move  
Pass you by, it's all in this life you have  
Pass you by, goodbye to you_

Arista grinned before playing air guitar and jumping around the dorm. She knocked things down from bedside tables and the like. Ignoring the cries from the red-head trying to study, she jumped from bed to bed before landing on the floor with a soft thud. She padded around the room boogying about in a spastic method. Brooklyn eyed her with fear if she lost all self control. Despairingly he knew he'd get no work done today when she narrowly escaped crashing into him. Instead he settled for watching her because he valued his life.

_One, two, three, four, move  
If you don't stop there, you'll make it through  
Stop dreaming, start something  
When it's in your hands to start anew_

Arista sang aloud, although the music could be heard through the next room due to the amount of volume. How she heard anything was beyond Brooklyn, with the volume that high, shouldn't she be deaf by now? He knew this wasn't the first time she'd done this. In fact he rarely went through a week without coming upon this show of elation. He was very used to it, but it still surprised him how she was able to hear.

_It's ok to use your ability  
You must know, it's hard to choose  
Time will tell, it's hard 'cause the way you feel  
Means you always seem to lose_

Arista's silver headphones were shining when the light caught them to match her hair as she moved around the room. She played an imaginary set of drums before pausing slightly to fix her headphones so they snapped back snugly around her ears. She continued to yell, jumping around the room before she played another air guitar solo.

_Seize the day, the one that you left behind  
It seems so strange that you don't move  
Frozen still in front of your own lights  
Win or lose, its time to choose_

She was very warm as a mild heat crept upon her. While moving around to dance her foot had caught on to the leg of a bed, causing her to fall abruptly. Shrugging a shoulder she continued to sing, her breathing trivially labored.

_One, two, three, four, move  
If you don't stop there, you'll make it through  
Stop dreaming, start something  
When it's in your hands to start anew_

Brooklyn out rightly smirked at her position. Her pant bottom was caught on the bed leg but she refused to stop shimmying around. She wiggled around on the floor continuing to spaz. His eyebrows crept a little bit higher when she rolled over before getting up and finishing with a jump.

_Stop dreaming, start something_

_Start something_

As the lyrics stopped to be replaced by a small instrumental bit Arista huffed and made herself comfortable sitting on Brooklyn's desk. She plopped down after moving his books out of the way.

"Enjoy the show?" she asked, her cheeks had traces of a rosy hue, her pupils larger than normal. Her hair was spilled wildly around her to frame her face before spilling over her shoulders.

Brooklyn gave her an interesting look before yawning in a mocking manner.

She replied with a nonchalant look before pulling the hem of her sweater over her head. With a gasp of surprise she found out too late she was stuck.

"Help!" She mumbled rapidly. "It's trying to devour me alive!"

Underneath her black sweater was a white t-shirt with the words "legalize everything" in green handwriting.

He pulled the sweater over her head before wondering how she got dressed in the morning. If she struggled so much with a sweater how did she possibly get the clasps for her bra done?

Looking at the perplexed state of her he shook his head. On second thought, it was better if he didn't know. Arista idly cursed her sweater before chuckling and giving it a good talking to about bad manners.

Brooklyn's eyes widened just a bit as he realized she was talking to an inanimate object, treating it like a five-years old.

He placed the back of his hand on her forehead feeling her temperature.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking for your sanity."

"Oh, Dicky, you're so silly." She gave a purposefully teasing look and patted his head cutely before elaborating. "I killed Sane Arista a long time ago."

The red-head gave her a reproachful look, he removed his hand from her forehead noticing that her skin had been lukewarm but had heated to his touch. He wondered about that for a split second.

He was brought out of his reverie as Arista continued her antics when the next song was quite loudly audible from her player.

--

"Hi, I want a haircut!" Arista beamed at the pristine female before letting loose her hair from its ponytail.

Nancy looked over Arista's clothes. Her jeans were ripped at the knees, getting baggier and looser as they hung down, and her sweater had two holes on each side where her thumbs poked through. She gave a look of censure at the youth. Arista's hair was open, past her shoulder. The ends were dyed with gold. Her left ear had three piercings, well her right had two. Four or five silver clunky bangles were visible on her arms.

The lady rubbed her nails against her suit jacket and then waved her hand towards her left. Arista happily walked and plopped herself down on a seat, Nancy wore a look of mild anger and disbelief.

"And you?" She sneered at Miyami. Miyami's silver hair was left open. The streaks of pink, black, and light green were visible as light shone upon her hair. She was wearing a black skirt with many chains hanging off, her ears were covered with earrings and studs. A spiked pierce was in her eyebrow, and a lip ring on her bottom lip. She was wearing her Rancid t-shirt, her arms were covered in jelly bracelets. She smirked, showing off her pointed canine like teeth.

"I'm fine." She held her skateboard in her arm and sat down on a chair making herself comfortable. Nancy gave a sigh of frustration and walked away shaking her head.

Miyami idly glanced around the small boutique before picking up a magazine and flipping through the pages. Every so often she would glance at her cousin to see what was going on.

--

Sonia gasped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Ozuma stood behind her, he had shocked her, and not to mention how good he looked with his bare chest.

Ozuma had taken off his shirt because it was too hot. He found the Australian female tying her shoelace. Lately she hadn't been herself and he hadn't seen her for a while. He missed her.

"Hey, how are you?" He asked her. He would start the conversation off casually and then ask her why she was avoiding him.

"I'm fine, you just startled me, that's all." Her gaze rose to his teal eyes. She could sense a flickers of emotions run through them and then she wondered what her eyes looked like. Could he tell? Feeling uncomfortable she rose off the bench and stood. She shrugged off his hand and started into an easy gait.

"I'm going for a run." She declared. Ozuma jogged up to her.

"I'll join you." He flashed her a smile sending her heart spiraling. A flutter of something she barely recognized rose in her stomach.

"Yeah, uh sure." She started to break into a run, leaving him behind her a few paces.

Ozuma shrugged and stayed behind her. If she wanted time to realize her feelings, she would get it. But if she took too long then he'd just give have to interfere. For now, he enjoyed the view of her backside.

Ahead of him, Sonia sighed. What was she supposed to do about Ozuma? She'd been avoiding him for pretty long now, almost a week. She still had mixed feelings about him, she was his friend, but a part of her wanted to be more than that. And sooner rather than later. What was wrong with her? Sure she'd always been physically attracted to him, he did occupy her brain a lot. But what if he didn't want to be more than just friends, then he would reject her. She didn't want to ruin they're friendship, it would be really awkward.

She frowned, her insecurities nibbled away at her, chewing up her insides. She'd go ask Ruin or Mikey for some advise. They both knew how to handle things. This also gave her an excuse to get away from Ozuma who was trailing behind her. She could almost feel his gaze burning into her. His eyes were so exquisite. She could stare at them all day.

No, we're just friends, her brain corrected her.

But we could be so much more. Her insides battled for dominance while she finished running around the track. She sat down on the bench and checked her time, 2:37.

Ozuma came 20 seconds later. He sat down beside her and took a few deep breaths. "Hey. Man, I'm tired."

Sonia rose a brow. "After three laps around the track?"

"Yeah, well Shahero kind of mistook me for Hitoshi and kicked me."

Sonia made and 'o' of acknowledgement. He looked into her eyes, so many emotions played through them like a film. He watched them go a little hazy.

"I have to go. I need to talk to Ruin about something."

Sonia got up, taking her duffel bag with her and then left him staring at her retreating figure.

--

Ignoring Kai used to be easy for Amber, now it was different. Before her feelings resembled hatred but now she was so confused she didn't know what to think. So she was sitting in Bryan's lap listening to her Lost Prophets CD while she thought about what to do. She was watching the video Tala and Johnny had filmed. She couldn't hear the sounds, she knew she liked what she saw. Her face reappeared on the screen, she grinned and made a V with her fingers just before the screen flashed black.

She clapped gleefully and smiled. "I loved it."

Tala grinned, Ruin sitting beside him, his arm around her shoulders bringing her close to him. Amber snuggled further into Bryan's arms. Tala had always liked Ruin, in more than a platonic friendship sort of way. He'd confessed this to Amber who'd immediately tried to set them up with help from Miyami and Aspin.

Whether Ruin wanted him to or not Tala loved her. More than she thought possible. Tala let go of her to retrieve his video from the VCR. He slipped it into his bag and slung his bag on his shoulder. He waited for Ruin to collect her things and then poked Amber until she got up.

"I don't wanna, and you can't make me." She stuck out her tongue and folded her arms against her chest. "Bryanny!" She complained to her cousin. "Can I have a piggy-back ride?"

When he refused she persisted until he agreed. She jumped up and down on the spot. "Yay!"

Bryan gave a ghost of a smile and then leaned down. Amber jumped onto his back and clasped her hands around his neck. She grinned and sang in tune to her CD.

"And I can be on the last train home, watch it pass the day, as it fades away, no more to kill, no more time today..." Her voice trailed off yet again.

Bryan walked out of the red room and into the hallway. Tala was talking casually to Ruin about something, Shahero jogged up to them and fell in step, joining their conversation. Ahead of them Miyami, Johnny, and Kai stood handing out purple papers.

"What're these for?" Shahero asked taking one from Kai, who happened to stand closest to her.

"Do you actually think Hiwatari was going to read what it read? I doubt his tiny brain can handle it." Bryan smirked at Amber's comment.

Kai rolled his eyes, so she was going to pretend it never happened. Fine with him. He would just corner her about it later when she was alone. After all, them being in the same school, and having classes together wasn't going to help her any.

If he was going down, he would bring her down with him. After all, there was saying or something that went 'Love is a disease, and it's contagious. Spread it and everyone else will be sick too!' He smirked, it would be like torturing Amber, that was always good for a laugh and a half.

Amber turned her gaze to Miyami and looked at the female. Something had changed what was it? She lowered the volume on her Discman and pulled her hood off her head.

"Miya? Did you do something?" She looked questionably at the silver haired female.

Miyami grinned from ear to ear. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and posed. "D'ya like it?"

Amber ran a hand through silver tresses and nodded. "It's so pretty. I wanna get streaks too."

She surveyed the newly streaked hair and grinned. The silver hair was streaked and cut into choppy bangs that slipped into her eyes. She had pink and purple streaks that blended in, looking natural. It was layered at the back and left open.

"I love it. Did Ari get hers done too?" Miyami nodded.

Johnny stepped in between Miyami and Amber. "I would like to take my girlfriend to heaven and back. Would you please excuse us?"

Amber smirked and gave a soft punch to Johnny's arm. "Whatever." She stepped inside, still riding on Bryan's back. They made a bee-line to the back of the gym and sat down in the far corner. Sonia sat beside Michael talking in hushed whispers. The noise around them, the noise level escalated as more students piled into the gym.

Amber spotted Kane and Rei sitting on either side of Arista. They were too far away to hear her, so she settled instead for looking around for someone else. Her view was cut short as Kai came and sat in the once empty seat directly in front of her. She narrowed her eyes and kicked his chair. He didn't even turn around, and instead pushed his chair back causing a cry of surprise from Amber.

The legs of Kai's chair snagged on the bottoms of Amber's pants causing her discomfort. She leaned forward to avoid them slipping off. Putting her hands on her narrow waist she pulled at them, but it was no use.

In front of her Kai made no move to acknowledge her presence. Amber frowned and rapped her knuckles on her chair. Kai didn't even phase. Losing her temper slightly, Amber punched him hard on the arm. Finally catching his attention, he turned his head slightly, catching her eye.

Her ochre eyes glittered with anger and annoyance. She pointed with her free hand to the floor, the bottoms of her pants were caught underneath the bottoms of Kai's chair.

She growled into his face and practically had her nose to his. Kai didn't even blink, and instead was waiting to hear what she had to say.

"Your on my pants. Move!"

Kai raised a slate eyebrow. "And why would I do that?"

Amber leaned back slightly, caught off guard. "I... Just get off… my pants!"

She shoved him with her hand, or that was her intention but Kai easily caught her wrist. Her pulse hitched, and her skin throbbed from his touch. She cleared her head shaking it, making her hair spill out from her hood.

He frowned at her surprised face. "I was kidding, Benson."

He let go of her wrist and turned around abruptly. Amber, confused and sad at the bitter edge to his words, turned the volume up so that she could block out any noise of anything save for the music.

Kai's words stung, she narrowed her eyes baffled with the blunette, then shook her head and settled into an easy almost sleep. She was still conscious and still aware of how Kai's broad shoulders were tensed and muscled. Something she hadn't really noticed before. She knew he had muscles, just that they weren't of any interest before. She tore her gaze away almost hesitantly and leaned her head onto Bryan's shoulder. Spencer sat beside the lilac haired male, they were talking about something or other, she didn't pay any more attention and just listened to her CD.


	9. Snickers, Giggles, and Laughter Galore

13 Shades of Grey

Snickers, Giggles, and Laughter Galore

--

Arista kicked the chair in front of her and waited for Johnny to hand her back her Game Boy. He made a sound of annoyance, grumbled and then handed the see-through purple electronic game back to it's owner.

Arista smiled giddily and started pushing buttons, raising her score ever higher. She was playing Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 3. She stuck out her tongue in such a way that gave her more concentration and almost jumped out of her seat when she beat her old hi-score record.

Before she was sitting beside Rei and Kane. But she'd switched seats because Rei kept talking, distracting her, and Kane kept wanting to make out with Aspin. Although he had left a while back, saying he needed to use the washroom. He'd disappeared since, and hadn't come back yet.

Tala jabbed her with his elbow lightly; Arista stashed the game into her shirt pocket and waited for Mr. Dickenson to pass. He knew that she was playing games, but he let her off. After all, listening to speeches from teachers was pretty boring. Giving one was worse. He smiled slightly and walked off.

As soon as he was gone Arista sighed, and took her Game Boy out again. Tala rolled his eyes amused, and pretended to pay attention but caught himself glancing back towards Ruin. More often than not his gaze would travel to the gothic female.

She was currently seated two rows, and six seats to the left in front of him. Sonia sat beside her, talking non-stop. Ruin looked thoughtfully at her friend, adding in her input every now and then. Aspin sat beside Rei and Shahero. The three had started to throw paper at the students in front of them.

Amber was probably with Bryan or one of her cousins. Ozuma was standing along with Hitoshi on the stage, they were playing Double-Oh-Seven while trying to look alert and interested. Tala grinned, he was so glad he'd refused the job of being a prefect. The boredom he'd have to endure would have been fathomless.

Arista squealed with delight as she made it one level higher. Tala smirked and surveyed the screen to read her score. It was in the millions as far as he could tell. Beside him, Ian nudged his arm. Tala turned to his left and raised an eyebrow to the midget Russian.

"What?"

"Just watch." Came the reply.

Ian took out his chewed gum and rolled it with his forefinger and thumb. When it was somewhat round, he leaned forwards and dropped it into Shahero's hair. She didn't even notice. For fear of it falling out, Ian decided to take his chances and applied pressure to the gum, tacking it onto the dark-haired girl's hair. Shahero was too busy flicking paper balls to even notice anything.

Tala smirked. When Shahero found out she would kill the living daylights out of Ian. That he would love to watch.

The lights in the gym dimmed to a low glow, a screen was lowered and an overhead was rolled into the gym.

"Oh great, just what we need. A boring film to go along with a boring assembly."

Now he would have to sit for another hour or so and watch a boring film that was probably made just especially for them to watch. He groaned and sunk deeper into his chair. Well, hell wouldn't this be fun?

Arista paused her game and looked up curiously to see what they were going to watch. The squeaking of the wheels on the cart of the overhead stopped. The lights on the stage flashed on. She waited idly to see what would happen now.

Usually assemblies were boring and never had any films or anything.

Was there a new student? She couldn't figure it out so she looked to Tala and only met his confused teal orbs. She turned back to her Game Boy and saved her progress then switched it off. She might as well get some sleep out of this. Arista sunk into her chair and leaned her head on Tala's shoulder, making herself comfortable. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Her progress was cut short when she heard a screeching then opened one eye slowly to figure out that it was from the microphone held by none other than Principal Gerro. She groaned and closed her eye, this would not only be boring, this was going to be long, monotonous, and mind-numbing. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. Tala murmured a noise of agreement and closed his own eyes.

Gerro started talking and then eventually stopped letting Hitoshi figure out the film before it started to play.

Shahero's gaze lingered on the older Kinomiya, her eyes met his and held them. She frowned, things between them had cooled off since she'd embarrassed him. Looking away she brushed her bangs out of her face, and put him at the back of her mind. She turned to Aspin who was turned around talking to Robert. Actually, arguing made a better point.

"How uncouth. Throwing balls of paper at other students is so immature. Really." He tsk'ed a few times. Shahero rolled her eyes at the pretentious male. He could be seriously annoying sometimes, the way he thought he was better than everyone else.

She turned around slightly enough to face him. "Robert, your face is immature."

Robert narrowed his eyes and frowned. "I don't believe I asked for you opinion, Kaeto."

The way he said everyone's last names instead of their first names made her even more annoyed. She got confused when he said someone's last name and she didn't know whom he was talking about.

"I don't believe Aspin asked for your opinion either." She retorted to him.

He hmphed and then turned his nose at the two. Rei grinned and congratulated the two.

"Score one more for us."

Aspin smiled and then offered him a paper. She scrunched up one in her hand and aimed it for Daichi's head. It ricocheted off the lanky red-head and landed on Tyson's lap. He turned around boredly and looked questioningly at the purple haired female.

"What?" She asked innocently. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her disbelievingly, he pointed to the paper in his lap.

"Oh, that. Ian did it."

Tyson flung it at the Russian and then added, "Knock it off, dude. I wanna sleep."

"What the hell?" Ian asked confused.

He himself had been trying to catch a few zees. Only to have it snatched away from him by a paper ball. He growled and remained his former sleeping position.

In front of him, Shahero saw him trying to sleep. Well, wasn't this interesting?

"Hey, Arista!" She poked the Russian until she woke, eyes droopy.

Arista wiped sleep from her eyes and stared blankly at Shahero. She could practically sleep with her eyes open. Shahero remembered her telling her that she'd been practising.

She poked Arista again until she was sure the Russian was awake. "What?" Came the snappy reply.

"Do you have salt?"

If you asked anyone else this question they would have said no, but Arista kept spare salt packets. Just so she could remove the evil spirits and exorcise people. She nodded slowly and processed what she had just been asked.

"Oh, yeah. Hang on."

Shahero grinned. Her gaze ran over Ian's sleeping form. He would never see this coming.

"Here." Arista handed three salt packets to the Asian and resumed her position.

Shahero rolled her eyes. Her friends, Sleepy, and Already Sleeping. If Ian would have a nick name, it would have been Smelly, Nosey, or Shorty. Shorty and Nosey made much more of an impact than Smelly. Besides he didn't smell half bad, she noticed as she leaned back in her chair. She ripped open the small salt packet and poured it in Ian's shirt.

Her chair rocked dangerously back as her weight was leaned forwards. She took no notice, and instead leaned forwards even more. The lights in the gym all went out at once. Thunder crackled and whipped in the far distance. Shahero, caught off guard from the surprise, lost her balance and toppled over in her chair. She fell forwards, half on top of a shaken Tala, and half on top of a disgruntled Ian. Arista had been knocked down as well, a long with a couple of students around the four. Aspin held onto Rei's steadying hands to keep from falling.

Shahero's legs were splayed onto Arista's lap. Her head rested in Ian's hands, and her torso was on Tala. She struggled to get up, almost falling over again. She looked around at the cascading effect. The lights were back on, and everyone was staring at the pile of students on the floor. She immediately ducked down, as to avoid being targeted by any suspecting teachers.

She crawled under chairs, followed by Arista and Tala. Tala was struggling slightly seeing as he was almost a foot taller than Shahero, and a third of a foot taller than Arista. He bumped his head several times, and his body bumped into the legs of chairs and students.

Arista was still half-asleep, her brain was foggy and her senses were slightly dulled. Shahero was ahead of her, Tala behind her. She figured she should keep crawling under the chairs until she hit something solid, or until Shahero stopped.

She bumped into something and hissed. She rose only to bump her back onto the bottom of someone's chair. She cursed and lowered her body closer to the ground.

"What the flying fuck?" She rasped, finding her voice dry and hoarse.

"Hey, I see a flying fuck now. Other than that the door won't open. Help me."

Tala was still behind them, trying to catch up. Arista turned and made her way into the second row. She pushed at the door with her might, but it didn't budge.

"It's locked." Shahero stated.

"Way to be Ms. Obvious." Arista rolled her eyes. Behind them Tala panted, looking worse for wear. He crouched down and caught his breath.

"Or someone's holding it." Shahero ended her sentence. She flicked her dark hair out of her eyes and frowned. Tala squeezed in front of her and pushed at the door. Again, it remained stuck. Because of their cramped positions they weren't able to push properly at the door.

Arista turned back into the first row, just as she was about to turn, her feet caught with the fabric of someone's clothes. She was knocked off her knees. She cursed viscously and winced when her head banged on the linoleum.

She looked at the gap between the chairs, and met the smirking face of Brooklyn. She raised her arms and tugged at the sleeves of his arms. His grip on the handle of the door loosened. Shahero pushed at the door, along with Tala. It finally opened.

The three scrambled out and breathed in the clean, crisp air of the hallway.

Brooklyn emerged from behind the door, eyed the trio with raised brows. "Should I even bother to ask what happened?"

"No, so save you breath for something more important. Oh wait, I forgot how boring your life is."

Tala got up and dusted himself off. Arista followed suit as did Shahero.

Brooklyn rolled his moss eyes, his gaze lingered on Arista. Her cheeks were flushed prettily, and her eyes had melded to form a light navy blue, tinged with amber. He blinked and wondered how they turned like that. Her hair had been left open, displaying silver, red streaked hair. It was a dark red, like the shade of Tala's hair. He frowned, when had she done that?

"What are we gunna do now?" Shahero asked boredly. Not that she wasn't grateful to have escaped from the bowels of boredom. Assemblies were worse than her French class.

"I dunno." Came the reply from Arista.

"Let's decide on something."

"Other than staying here." Arista's eyes widened at the couple making out near the door. "Don't look now but here come the face-suckers!" She used the nickname she'd given to Miyami and Johnny.

"What about-"

"Detention with me for the whole week." Hitoshi's voice interrupted. He materialized from behind the doors of the gym. Stepping out, he came into view, he surveyed the students in the hallway. His eyes met Shahero's, and remained there.

"But, but, we're almost related!" Arista protested.

"Yeah, dude. Lay off." Shahero replied. "You're not even allowed to since your not a teacher."

"What if I did have authorization? Then I'd be allowed to." He stepped forward, closer to Shahero.

"Uh-uh." She almost faltered. Taking a step back she cleared her head. Hitoshi did not look good! Especially when he was smirking. He didn't, he didn't, he didn't! Shahero denied it, but she knew she was warming up to the older male. He was attractive, but she didn't want to like him. Damn it.

Hitoshi watched amused, it looked like Kaeto was having an inner struggle. And by the looks of things, it in some way involved him. He smirked and advanced on the unwary female. He backed her up against the wall, and slid his arms possessively around her waist. He was infatuated with her. Breathing in, he could make out her subtle scent.

Shahero realized who was holding her, and looked up to meet the amused orbs of Hitoshi Kinomiya. She started to wriggle but couldn't seem to break away from his grip. Hitoshi leaned down, and fanned his breath over her face, sending involuntary shudders down her spine. She shivered, goose bumps formed on her arms. Her t-shirt was doing nothing to shut out the cold.

"I don't wanna watch Hito suck face with Senny. Later skater."

Arista started her way down the hall, followed by Tala and Brooklyn.

Shahero watched her friends disappear. Her eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in annoyance. Fucking hell, wasn't this just peachy? Hitoshi caught the fearful look in her eyes, and loosened her grip. So, she was still getting over Brent. He would have to teach that asshole a lesson on how to treat people. Preferably with his fists. He let her go and watched her run down the hall, and turn the corner, disappearing from view.

--

Amber had fallen asleep on Bryan's shoulder. She wouldn't have woken up if a fire alarm went off. She could sleep through anything.

Bryan smiled down at his sleeping cousin and brushed the bangs out of her eyes. Amber awoke with a start. She wasn't really sleeping, she was awake, only pretending to sleep. She blinked, and rubbed sleep from her eyes. Stretching her arms in the air she yawned. Her arm stretched forward, bumping into Kai's head. He had also been sleeping, but was and extremely light sleeper. He awoke and opened his eyes still drowsy.

He turned around and came face to face with an apologetic Amber. She stretched again, exposing golden bronze skin. Kai's eyes wandered to her flat stomach, and slowly made their way to her eyes. He cursed himself and frowned.

Kai rubbed a hand on his eyes and yawned. "What?" He asked confused.

"Huh?" Amber replied unintelligently.

She pulled down her shirt and yawned. "Dija say something?"

"What?" Kai was awake now, and aware of Bryan's steely stare.

Amber frowned. How did Kai manage to look so cute? And why was she noticing? Oh yeah, because he was showing strong feelings towards her. Her cheeks flushed a light pink colour. Kai shrugged his shoulders and turned around. He grumbled something incoherent.

Amber shivered suddenly, why was it so cold all of a sudden? The lights flashed on, before flickering off. She growled as light flooded her eyes and left her feeling awkward.

Thunder crackled in the distance. The pitter-patter of raindrops falling could be heard. Electrical storm, she mused before resting her head on Bryan's shoulder. The overprotective male slipped his arm around her shoulder and warmed her up. He frowned in Hiwatari's direction, then kicked his chair.

Kai growled and moved his chair back purposely. He slammed the edge of it on Bryan's knees. The chair rammed its way up and over Bryan's knees, he hissed in pain. Then he writhed free.

Bryan looked hatefully at Kai who glared back. The two boys had violent tendencies, but kept them in check.

Amber pushed Kai's chair back, he looked at her poignantly, then turned away. Bryan met Amber's gaze, she was confused, he figured. Better leave it that way. A teacher came, tapped Bryan on the shoulder, then Kai.

"Follow me."

"With pleasure." Kai mumbled sarcastically. Bryan settled for glaring at Kai's back, and followed the teacher out into the hall, and to the front office.

In the distance they heard Gerro turn the mike back on. He started to talk about something or other.

Mr. Sanders, the teacher that had led them away, recognized them as senior students and let them go back into the gym albeit reluctantly.

"I don't want to see any more of this." He said severely, then gave an angry if not annoyed stare to the two retreating figures.

Kai walked around to the other side of the gym and entered through a different side, not wanting to go near Amber while her overprotective cousin was around. He frowned. Why did Amber have to complicate things without even trying?

--

In a previously unoccupied classroom sat five teens. Arista, dressed only in a t-shirt and her pants sat annoyed. Beside her Ruin sat smugly, her clothes still intact with her skin. Tala was down to only his boxer shorts, and Brooklyn was topless. Tyson was in the process of removing his vest before folding it and placing it on his lap.

They were playing strip poker out of sheer boredom, Tala was losing with Arista fast behind him.

She scratched her foot as something cold brushed against it. Brooklyn noticed her discomfort and smirked slowly. Oh what fun it was to annoy the silver-haired Russian. Her bare feet were warm and soft to the touch.

Another round went by before Arista hissed.

"I know you guys are cheating somehow!" She growled before removing her pants. She wore black boxer shorts with yellow sponges and pink starfish decorating them. She folded her legs, sitting cross-legged on her chair. Brooklyn watched with interest as she sunk lower in her chair.

"We can still see you." Tyson commented lightly before grinning sheepishly when said female gave him a glare.

Ruin, who was the only one who hadn't lost any articles of clothing so far grinned slightly.

"Too bad, so sad."

Tala's gaze flicked to the said female, he would really like to see what she was like under her clothes. He cursed her good luck before he played his hand.

"No way man!" Tyson shouted angrily.

He removed his shoes and socks before grumbling as his feet made contact with the cold tiled floor.

"Nyah nyah!" Arista stuck out her tongue before laughing.

"Don't stick that out unless you plan to use it."

Shocked, Arista whipped her head around before groaning as her hair lashed across her cheeks.

"That's disgusting!" The pitch in her voice had risen slightly.

"Not when you think about it."

"It's just common sense." Tala added before leaning into Ruin and running his lips over her petulant mouth.

She gave in to him before pulling away slowly.

"Ugh." Arista and Tyson looked on in disinterest and annoyance at the public display of affection. "Get a room."

"Funny, I thought this was a room." Tala stated in a drawling voice.

"He's right." Brooklyn added in a slight undertone.

"Don't agree with them!" Arista huffed sending wisps of hair flying away from her eyes. "Unless you're a… a…"

Her eyes widened in realization before she snickered. Tyson having gotten the joke laughed along loudly. Tala and Ruin were busy making, not noticing the other occupants.

"Are you implying I'm a voyeur?"

Arista gave a nod before continuing to laugh at the absurdity of the suggestion.

Tyson put a hand to his stomach before taking deep breaths.

Brooklyn, not wanting to be the centre of their ridiculous assumption, kicked Tyson under the table before turning his attention the chuckling female.

"Don't think you'll get away with this."

He leapt forwards in her direction, efficiently getting a firm grip around her waist while she continued laughing ignoring his futile attempts to distract her. He poked around her rib cage tentatively, trying to figure out if she was ticklish.

When he was rewarded with a soft giggle and a squirm he grinned. His hands released her waist to claim her midriff as he continued to ravish soft giggles and protests from her susceptible torso.

"Ge'ff!" She exclaimed indignantly.

She fell to the floor with Brooklyn landing on top of her. He being the stronger of the two pinned her, he held her hands above her head while he smirked gleefully.

"Don't do it." She huffed blowing stray bangs out of her face.

"Hn."

It was the only response before his hand ran up and down her sides making her laugh, she struggled under his weight.

Her lips curved into a felenic smile as she clamped her teeth together. She tried to breathe through her nose but that was no use when Brooklyn prodded her torso with both hands. He was pleased when she wiggled under him trying to catch her breath.

Tears spilled from her liquidated eyes. The amber flecks stood apart from the navy blue catching his interest.

Granted with an opening to escape, she lunged upwards pushing him off of her. He moaned softly when his head hit the hard floor head on. Arista reveled in her success before she flipped him over onto his stomach catching his arm and twisting it behind his back.

"Now who's laughing."

Tyson looked over to the two after having finally settled from his fit of laughter. "I'm not, my stomach hurts."

"No Ty-pai, you're just hungry."

"You know, you're right." His stomach gave a clear rumble, he patted it absently.

"Mind getting off?"

"Hmmn?" Arista looked down at a red-faced Brooklyn. He'd turned over on to his side with her planted firmly on his hips. His eyes had taken on a faint sea green hue, watching her intensely.

"Oh, well yes, I do mind."

"Just get off."

"No Dick-ass." She turned back to Tyson talking animatedly.

He wormed his arm free from her slackened grasp. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Ruin and Tala slink away. Probably to go somewhere less theatricall and more private.

He rolled his eyes before easily pushing Arista off of him. She fell back dreading she'd land on the hard, tiled floor.

Brooklyn sighed before grabbing her wrists to steady her. She was more trouble than she was worth.

"Ow!" She yelped with pain when his fingers snared around her bandaged arm. She jumped back before toppling over on to the floor from her imbalance. She let out a muffled groan of discomfort trying to sit up without causing further harm to her already damaged wrist.

Brooklyn leant closer to get a view of her arm before she pushed him back, uncomfortable from the proximity of his body.

She scratched at her arm lightly not noticing when she peeled the bandages off. She gave a satisfactory glance before scratching at the stitches in the process pulling them apart.

Brooklyn rolled his eyes before separating her short nails from her lily-white skin. "Stop it, you'll rip out the stitches." He gave a closer inspection then added, "or what's left of them."

Arista drew in a breath when a sting of pain rushed to her fingers sidling in her hand and crawling up her arm. She mewed softly at the onslaught of pain.

Brooklyn growled before taking a tender hold of her hand. He faced her palm upwards and noted with displeasure that the punctures were bleeding. A mucus-like pus oozed out slowly.

Arista looked on in half-horror, half-fascination. "Oooh, I wonder what it is."

"It's seepage." He replied crossly.

"Why are you so mad at me? What did I do?"

Her eyes darkened when he remained silent. She poked his arm, he shrugged in response causing her to growl in exasperation.

He wiped away at the discharge with her discarded sweater from earlier. Then before she could protest he pulled out her sock from beside him and banded it around her wrist.

"Why'd you do that? That was the sock I knitted. It took me a whole week and two boxes of bandages."

He looked at her in mock interest before fixing his gaze back down. She huffed angrily trying desperately to get her hand away from his.

He held tighter, his mouth set in a firm line. "Quit moving around. You'll make it worse."

"It hurts too much for it to be any worse."

Her hand was burning while her wrist singed with fiery pricks of pain.

Brooklyn absently ran his thumb around the sock pausing gingerly to rest the pad of his thumb against the bloodied part of it before he rubbed small circles on her flesh.

Her breath hitched at his movements. It felt good against the burning sensations but it was unnerving.

"Quit that."

She slapped away at his hand but he caught it with his free hand still not looking up. He continued to soothe her arm, numbing the ache to a dull throb. He continued to work his way up her arm. Brooklyn sustained the action before going to the nape of her neck and working his way to her back. The thin material of her top kept him from directly touching her skin. He eased out the tension and fight from her absently taking in the detail of her hair and the slope of her neck.

Her eyes looked to his bent face hazily before her muscles went lax.

He continued his assistance working his way back up to the gentle curve of her neck. His cool fingers ran along her jaw line in butterfly movements. She closed her eyes and smiled faintly when his hand dipped to her collarbone and along her décolletage.

She sighed dreamily when his other hand released hers and worked the knots out of her hair. Her scalp tingled at his touch.

Brooklyn looked her over before confirming the fact that she did indeed have a fever.


	10. Super Massive Black Hole

13 Shades of Grey

Super Massive Black Hole

Disclaimer: Arista Belyaev is mine. Amber Benson is Zadien's, as is Ruin Mulryan. Aspin Grant is Animerle's, Sonia Martini is Spitfire-Sae's. Miyami Kinomiya is sun-thief's and Shahero Kaeto is Coors'. Takao Aomi originally owns Beyblade, with the license being held by Nelvana corp.

--

Ozuma sat beside Sonia, who was busy copying notes down from the board. She was so focused she had efficiently blocked out everyone else around her.

He sighed before glancing over her notes trying to copy down what he had missed by staring at the freckle-faced female.

When class was over, he would pronounce his undying affections to her. Or something to that degree. A quick glance at the clock on the wall had his stomach doing jumps.

Five minutes to go.

Nothing would stop him now. The corners of his lips formed into a smirk, he would win her over, of that, he was sure.

He scribbled furiously when he felt two eyes boring into his head. Surely the teacher had not noticed the lack of words on his paper.

Two minutes to go.

He snuck a look at Sonia; her hair was in a messy ponytail, stray bangs coming to fall over her forehead and around her face to frame it.

She was what he thought about all day long. Moreover, when night came he even dreamt about her! It was a little weird but he'd soon placed this infatuation as love. Or a very strong corporeal feeling of lust.

The bell rang with a shrill pinging.

Ozuma crammed his books into his bag before swinging it around his shoulders. He waited impatiently for Sonia to put her things away.

"What?" She gave a nervous look at him watching her with placid anger.

"Nothing."

Not sure if she believed him she put her backpack on before getting up, he followed her actions.

She cast him a sidelong look before wondering what had gotten him so annoyed.

Ozuma, not being able to hold his feelings in much longer, held her hand in his and led her into an empty classroom.

"Ozuma, what are you doing?"

The confusion in her voice melted away at his heart.

"Sonia," he started out tersely, turning to face her. "I need to tell you something."

"Okay, but why couldn't you do it on the way to the lunch room?"

"No because, this is something too important and too private."

He took a step closer to her, watching her cast a nervous glance in his direction.

"Sonia Anne Martini." Her name rolled off his tongue delicately.

"Yes?" She gazed meekly at his eyes. They were so deep and serious.

Had she done something wrong, she wondered to herself.

When she stared at him with that lost look it took all of his will power to stop himself from ravishing that lovely mouth.

"I'm in love with you."

--

Arista sat sluggishly on the end of the bench opposite Bryan. Amber sat beside him, while Johnny and Miyami sat making out beside her. Sonia and Ozuma had walked in together holding hands and giving each other sheepish looks. Kane had been prompted to tease Ozuma's new girlfriend before being repressed by Hitoshi and Aspin who had threatened to chop off his azure locks. Shahero sat comfortably in Hitoshi's lap in a gentle slumber.

Arista sat firmly on the bench although to her it felt like everything was spinning. Her brain was foggy, everything had a softer edge to it, almost glowing. Amber looked like her skin was made of gold. Bryan's hair was a shade of deep orange, Arista squinted and blinked, rubbed her eyes at this new revelation.

"Bryanny? Your hair is orange!" Arista ran a hand through strands of silk.

He frowned half-heartedly, only for his lips to curve into a genuine smile as her cool fingers ran through his hair, tickling his scalp. He slugged away her hand, listening to the many laughs that came from their friends.

"Go back to sleep Belle."

Brooklyn's voice drew her out of her stupor. He was leaning against the table before he scooted her over and sat down beside her.

She mumbled gibberish before resting her head on the table.

"What's wrong with her?" Amber asked curiously at the sad state of affairs before poking her Russian friend.

"She's got a fever."

"At least she doesn't think she's an airplane." Aspin commented idly while Kane snickered.

"That's taken out of context, I do _not_ run around pretending to be an airplane."

Brooklyn snickered. "Yeah, you like to think you're a helicopter."

"Shut up!" She mumbled, but she'd lost the heat in her words due to her fatigue.

Shahero who'd drifted asleep on Hitoshi's lap, awoke with a start. "Where's the fire?"

Hitoshi rested his head on top of hers. "In your hair." He mumbled into her skin, smelling the cinnamon flavor from the object of his affections. Indeed it set his libido ablaze.

Shahero swatted her hand over her head poking Hitoshi's face managing to distance him from her. He yelped in surprise, arousing many snickers.

"More like on your hair." Amber stated, then laughed at her friend's predicament.

"Quick, put it out!" Arista poured a cup of water on the two, soaking them. They mumbled illogical swear words before leaving to dry themselves off.

The Russian ignored the threats she received, instead settling to sip her drink quietly.

She kicked Sonia under the table. "So are you two a couple now?"

"Way to state the obvious, Colombo."

"Hey! Stop being so mean to me." Arista pouted at the group of people sitting with her. "You're hurting my feelings."

"You have feelings?" Ozuma asked, his arm around Sonia.

"No, she's a robot remember?" Amber piped up.

"Your talking is slurred." Sonia said, her gaze focused solely on Arista.

Kane smirked. "She takes twice as long to say things now."

Arista, annoyed now, got up and sat down beside Rei and Mariah at the table beside theirs. She paled when she noticed what they were doing. She made a comical expression that amused Kai who sat opposite her on the same table. "Aw man. They're sucking each other's faces off."

The groups of people ignored her knowing full well she'd come back only to sit on one of them.

She left in order to find a new place to sit. When she couldn't find anyone else she knew she came back to Amber and shoved her lightly, shifting the female's position. Amber protested and moved back.

"Fine." She growled. She went around and sat down in Bryan's lap, soaking up his warmth.

"I'll just sleep. Wake me up in a few years, will ya?"

She rested her head on Bryan's chest, and curled her arms around him in a sleeping embrace. She yawned before her unconscious mind took over, dulling her senses and hearing until everything was black.

--

Kai watched Amber idly chattering away to her friends, laughing every so often when someone said something amusing.

He himself was situated between two couples. Rei and Mariah were making out to the right of him while Ruin and Tala joined in on the public display of affections.

He mumbled an excuse before heading out of the canteen in frustration. Everyone around him were happy campers with Love.

It seemed that he was the only one left to deal with the painful side of adoration.

He didn't know what it was about the small female. She was neurotic, aggravating and petulant. At times she was frustrating and demanding only to contrast in being pleasant and genuinely interested in what was going on. She was modest and humble yet she could be ruthless if the need to be arose.

He'd known her forever but still couldn't figure her out. He was playing pass the parcel and every time he thought he got something he was sent sprawling back to square one.

He watched her with lazy eyes, long dark lashes framed intricate molten eyes. His pulse beat languidly to echo lightly. To say he was fascinated was an understatement. She intrigued him greatly, a part of the reason he was so infatuated with her. Every time he thought he got somewhere with her, or got her to understand he was mistaken. She was so clueless when it came to matters like these.

She was a puzzle indeed. And everyone was holding onto a piece of her.

He wanted to put it all together but he also wanted to delve into discovering everything there was to her.

--

"Don't get smart with me young lady!"

The shrill voice was laced with anger was directed to Arista who shot the teacher a glare of annoyance.

Her head was pounding, it was a wonder in itself how she was still standing. In her current sleep-deprived and very exhausted state she was a marvel to look at. Her already fair skin had paled even more, her cheeks flushed red standing out in stark contrast like the brightest rubies. Her hair was limp and lacking its usual vibrance, the silver sheen lost. Her eyes were dark, bags supporting them like a bad bra. She was a sight to see if any, Brooklyn thought to himself. He watched her with amusement.

"Oh, so I'm getting smart with you, am I? And how would you know?"

Brooklyn shook his head at the mess Arista was in. She'd failed to provide her essay and had wanted to head back to her locker to find it. The teacher had accused her of wanting to have a smoke and shag someone, which prompted an incredulous look from said female before she responded with something profane.

He failed to see how she would get out of this and instead went back to carving his initials into the wooden desk he was situated at. The female across from him stood up briskly, her hands balled into fists.

The teacher sighed impatiently at the female before leading her out of the classroom to have a word with her outside in private.

"Right, like we can't hear through these paper-thin walls anyways."

When she reentered the class she walked over to her desk.

Mildly amused eyes locked with the dark navy of Arista's before she begrudgingly gathered her belongings and sat in the back corner of the classroom.

"Better watch your mouth Belle."

At Brooklyn's advice she flashed him the infamous finger. "This is an excellent time for you to become a missing person, you know."

"Ah, but who would mock your predicaments?"

Life was a super massive black hole with all these restrictions, deadlines, and penalties.

"You know, if you just did your work on time and handed it in, you might not get into trouble so often."

"Like your one to talk."

Brooklyn simply shrugged at her retort before busying himself with his reading. He enjoyed her company and could actually talk to her about things he was interested in. The other females he knew just didn't capture his attention or either threw themselves at him hoping he would like them.

He wasn't the type of person who went for looks alone, he wanted a personality and decent conversation. Not that he minded a cute face, of course. He was male after all and had his fair share of hormones.

His eyes wandered periodically to the isolated female every so often. He wondered what she was thinking while she worked on whatever it was she was doing. She had her back to him, whilst leaning back in her chair being careful not to fall over as she had on many a previous occasions.

Silver hair splayed over her shoulders as she hummed and bobbed her head to the sound of music audible to only her through her headphones.

Her eyes watched the world outside the windows of the confining building.

--

Clear blue skies were visible with a faint hint of snow falling from the sky. Icy patches covered the ground in tufts of clear liquid. The unsuspecting student was sure to fall victim to the sneaky attack, she thought. Absentmindedly she wondered why the sky was blue. Was it a reflection of the sea or was the sea a reflection of the sky? She was carrying Brooklyn's skates for him along with her own. She was also carrying his hockey stick and equipment, so she was too preoccupied to notice the square of ice. Before she knew it she'd fallen flat on her back, her vision blurring as she struggled to sit upright.

Brooklyn, having heard the loud thud of her misfortune, rolled his eyes before extending a hand and pulling her up.

By the time they reached the rink Arista was sore and bruised from the weight of the equipment and her lack of coordination, which had led her to go sprawling to the ground every now and then.

Brooklyn, annoyed at her incompetence had taken the gear from her and dragged her along to the rink holding onto a mitten-clad hand in a non-too-gentle grip.

Arista scurried along to keep up with him. She plopped down on the bench and yawned. Brooklyn tossed her skates to her having already done his own up. Arista, hands tired, didn't take off her mittens. Instead she laboured away unable to do the laces properly.

Brooklyn observed her childish behaviour and fought the urge to comment on her habits. Instead he kneeled down in front of her. He un-gloved his hands and did up one lace.

She scowled lightly. She wasn't a child, she could do up her own laces. Her hands were just cold.

"Too tight?" He asked nonchalantly.

"No, it's good."

He nodded before doing the same to the other one. Soon she was on the ice blocking goals from Brooklyn as he tried to shoot them in. Arista, weary from the day's activities, let in a lot of shots as the day progressed Brooklyn noticed absently.

While they headed back, Brooklyn opted to carry Arista on his back while she yawned into his neck. Warmth seeped into him as she nuzzled into his collarbone. He shivered, although he admitted it was due to the windy weather conditions rather than the position of her body.

Her mouth was warm against his neck as she breathed in and out consecutively. Her yellow Wellington-clad feet were wrapped around his hips loosely. He wondered why she was wearing them on a snowy day, then realised the slush around him knowing well what her intentions would be were she awake.

He thanked his lucky stars she was asleep or she would be splashing him with the wet mire. He enjoyed winter, but he didn't particularly like being wet with slush.

Arista turned her head to rest it on his broad shoulder before mumbling incoherent rantings.

Her mouth rested on the long scarf that adorned her neck before spilling out of her jacket. A mouthful of fabric had her spluttering fuzzy material. She spat on the ground in distaste causing Brooklyn to chuckle.

His body reverberated at her hardship. He nearly dropped her while she continued to hack away at the fur invading her mouth.

"Oh, you think this is funny?" She glowered before trying to stuff her long golden scarf into his mouth. Surprised, he let go of one of her hands and successfully got the scarf out of his mouth before she could gag him further.

Arista, shocked by his sudden movement, almost fell back but regained her balance by hooking her arm around his neck tightly.

Brooklyn, his windpipe blocked by her arm, was struggling not to drop her or his equipment while trying to get in gulps of air.

She realized where her hand was and blushed before removing it and placing it on the back of his shoulder.

"Sorry." She smiled sheepishly.

His eyebrows narrowed although she couldn't see it since all she could see was his mop of ginger hair.

Brooklyn motioned for her to get off but she didn't quite catch it and so she fell when he removed his hands from hers around his neck.

"Ow." She plopped to the ground for another time that day. Brooklyn smirked at her and tried not to laugh at her position.

She'd landed into a pile of slush butt-first. Her dark blue jeans were soaked at the back chilling her legs.

"Oh man." She grumbled. "It's so wet and cold." She made a face before trying to get up and checking the damage.

Brooklyn laughed, amused as she tried to see her backside to survey the scene. She was like a puppy chasing its tail in circles, he analyzed.

His eyes changed from a moss green to softer blue hue. Arista sighed and gave up on her quest to view her back.

"It's pretty soaked." He commented idly.

"Your powers of deduction amaze me."

Her reply was dry and sarcastic. He simply shrugged in return annoying her by his simplicity.

He continued to watch her, quite interested to why she was taking off her jacket.

"What?"

He snapped out of his trance and met her eyes. Rosy pink cheeks were puffed out in defiance. Her small, petulant mouth was curved into a scowl while she focused on his eyes. Her own were a dark navy complimenting her hair nicely, he mused.

"Oy, Dicky, I asked what you were staring at!"

He denied her an answer and instead continued to watch her look at him irately.

"Hel-lo-oh!" She poked his gut, no response.

She waved a hand in front of his eyes, still nothing. Annoyed at his sudden lack of attention, she pinched his nose roughly and twisted her fingers to jerk him out of his daydream.

He blinked twice before pushing her fingers away from his now red nose.

"What were you doing?"

"While, I was going to scratch your brain through your nose, but that would be invading your personal space. So I merely pinched it." She smiled happily as if the absurdity didn't bother her in the slightest.

He gave her an inquisitive look but refrained from replying.

"Hey, look over there." She pointed her finger heavenwards.

"What?" Brooklyn's eyes followed her hand upwards.

A sudden slop of wet, cold mire landed on him splashing him thoroughly. He growled in annoyance while Arista made her getaway. He chased after her yelling threats.

She laughed and ran along playfully not wanting to be caught.

A thought struck her and she climbed the tall pine tree to her right. Brooklyn smirked and rounded snow in his palm. He formed it into an adequate sphere before hitting her square in the shoulders with a well-aimed shot.

"Argh!" The snow melted into her sweater and she squirmed as cold water dripped down her back.

Not wanting to get hit again she made herself comfortable on a branch and sat gathering snow to throw back at him. She scooped a handful of snow and after packing it into a snowball, threw it at him.

He dodged and it barely missed hitting his ear.

'This would be interesting,' he thought to himself.


	11. Buried Alive By Love

13 Shades of Grey

Buried Alive By Love

Disclaimer: Arista is my creation. Amber + Ruin belong to Zadien. Coors and her hockey stick own Shahero. SpitfireSae owns Sonia. Miyami is the sole property of Sun-Thief/ Sombrero, and Aspin is Animerles'. The concept of the spinny tops and all original characters belong to Takao Aoki.

--

Ruin was drawn out of her dreams by Ian's angry yelling. The minute Russian sure had a voice, despite his tiny form. Ruin grumbled, got up reluctantly. She hated to be woken out of her sleep at this early in the morning, sunlight was barely visible. Only a few rays were seeping in through the blinds, closed last night by Aspin. It was impossible to fall asleep again, so she got up and stretched, yawned, blinked away sleep from her eyes. When she was finally awake she watched the comedy of Ian and Amber unfold before her.

Ian stood by Amber's bed, shaking her roughly. The ochre eyed teen was roused slowly. She'd lost her voice temporarily so she couldn't utter a single word or profanity for that matter. Ian didn't seem to mind too much, he was doing all the talking, not wanting to hear Amber's excuses.

Amber rolled her eyes and got up. No point in pretending she was asleep with her eyes wide open. She passed Aspin and Sonia on the way to the washroom, both who were still asleep in their beds.

"Lucky." Amber growled to herself, thought it sounded more like a gurgle than a word.

Ian came behind her, spun her around and faced her. His dark eyes narrowed towards her, glittering dangerously, teeth bared in anger, eyebrows slanted. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

Amber recognized it as the one Miyami had drawn in detention. She stifled a snigger as Ian's face reddened. He shoved it into his pants pocket.

"How many did you print?" His voice was low, and deep.

Amber shrugged.

"Damn it! How many?"

He tried to push her against the wall. Since he was practically the same height as her, it didn't have much impact and only caused her to stumble back a few steps.

She sure as hell didn't want to deal with this right now. Snickering inwardly at how funny the picture was, her eyes filled with mirth. Ian poked his index finger roughly on her collar bone, erupting a shrill intake of breath from the ochre eyed teen. She bruised easily and didn't want his finger marks on her skin. She pushed his hand away non-too-gently.

Her eyes narrowed in his direction. From her bed, Ruin made a move to get up, stopped when Amber's hand came up signaling her to stop what she was planning to do.

"I don't think Gerro will buy your excuse of Ian having committed suicide."

"Har har." Ruin deadpanned to Arista's comment.

Her hair was tousled from restless sleep. Bags of dark shadows formed under her glinting eyes. The darkness in the room made her look ghastly pale and weary. Her comforter was drawn around her, emitting reassuring warmth. She grinned slightly, one eye closed.

A pillow found it's way to Arista's head, making the Russian wince in pain. She rubbed her head, mocking ache. She looked around for the wielder of the thrown pillow. Ruin sat smirking, but all her pillows were still there, Arista noted after a quick count.

Shahero was sitting, having heard voices that had resulted in waking her from her slumber. She rubbed sleep from her eyes, surveyed the two teens in the centre of the room. She rose a brow and stared questioningly.

Ruin shook her head, smirking. Aspin was still sleeping, so were Sonia and Miyami. Shahero frowned, she wanted more sleep. It wasn't fair! And she'd been woken from a really nice dream. Involving Hitoshi. She blushed slightly, her cheeks tinged with pink, going unnoticed by her friends. The blunette was on her mind more and more lately. There was definitely some sort of physical attraction between them. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Shahero shook her head, shaking loose tangled bits of hair.

Amber growled when Ian persisted, stopping her again from entering the washroom. Angered, Amber turned away from him, pushing him forcefully in the process. He stumbled back a few steps, but blocked her path. He stood in the doorframe of the washroom, his dark eyes glinting dangerously.

"How many copies did you make?" His expression was angry, his voice laced with impatience and resentment.

Amber shrugged and tried to speak. Due to the fact she'd lost her voice, only a slur of mumbling came out. Ian growled with irritation.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" He asked, starting to lose his control.

Arista opened her mouth to retort something.

"Don't answer that." He gave her a glare of dislike. She resorted to sticking out her tongue and cursing him.

"Real mature." Shahero said dryly.

"Oh yeah? You want mature? Take this!" Arista threw one of her many pillows at Shahero.

"Oi!" Shahero deflected it with her fist, sending the cottony headrest flying to the floor, where it landed with a dull thud.

Amber snickered, stopped when her throat itched, causing her to rub it impulsively.

Annoyed, Shahero picked up one of her own pillows and flung it at Arista. It hit her in the middle of her forehead. Arista cringed and rubbed her head, spilling her streaked hair over her shoulder. Shahero snickered, ducked when Arista aimed a shot for her.

Ruin resisted the urge to roll her eyes. In the end she decided she'd join in. Besides, her aim was better than Shahero's and Arista's put together. She smirked before barricading her fellow friends with soft, fluffy pillows. Groans of misery rang out through the dorm, followed by the thuds and yells of the girls.

Ian stared half amused, half confused. What a bunch of weirdo's, he concluded, then left glaring death threats at Amber's back, while she made her way into the washroom The door closed with a 'click', signifying that it had been locked. He'd get her later. But he couldn't help wondering about her voice, though. Couldn't stop his brain from wondering how she'd lost it, and how bad it was. Whatever, he shrugged his shoulders, made his way past the many trinkets, items, and knick-knacks on the floor. He'd reached the door, his hand on the handle, twisting it slowly, when a pair of arms snaked around him, pulling him back into the dormitory. A cry of shock escaped Ian, he fell when the supporting pair of hands let go of him. Getting up he spun around and came face to face with Shahero. Amber popped out from behind her, leered into Ian's face, pushed him back into the wall, then stuck out her tongue and made a 'V' with her fingers.

"That's for waking her up." Shahero said, speaking for Amber.

"This," Shahero knocked him down, landed an uppercut to his jaw, "was for waking me up."

She smiled sweetly, then kicked him. Arista, who was too tired from her lack of sleep, settled for throwing a pencil case at him. It bumped his forehead, fell on his lap and opened, the contents spilled out.

Amber snickered, but only succeeded in making weird noises, earning odd looks from Arista and Shahero. Ian was in too much pain to care, he groaned and tried to pick himself off. Merely to fall back down from stress, and ache.

Shahero turned away from him, went to her drawer grabbing her towel and clothes. She stepped into the washroom. A few seconds later, she had stripped and turned on the water. She stepped into the tub, the shower on, sprinkling water over her small body. She soaked in the radiance of the water, enjoying the warmth.

Her hair stuck to her forehead, dripping water. Her body was covered in droplets of water, sodden with the moist liquid. She smiled and could've stayed in longer, except she didn't want to use up all of the warm water. Reluctantly she turned off the shower, after shampooing her hair.

She stepped out of the tub, dripping wet. Shahero took her towel from the towel rack on the wall and wrapped it around herself. Her skin was smooth and satiny to the touch, she put on her clothes. A pair of black cargo paints, way too big for her, a blue tank top, and Amber's Lost Prophets hoody.

She grabbed an indiscriminate towel and used it to dry off her hair. When it was mostly dry she found a comb and dragged it through her hair, pulling at the tangles. A knock on the door had her surprised and accidentally, she dropped the comb.

Frustrated, Shahero opened the door. Her sapphire eyes met the tired green ones of Aspin. She got out of the washroom to let the purple haired girl take her turn, but not before grabbing the brush from the floor.

Shahero sat on her bed and yanked it through her hair, causing a hiss to arise from her throat. Miyami, who'd awoken a few minutes earlier, tsk'ed and pulled the comb from Shahero's hand. She sat behind her and gently worked her way through the tangles in the females hair.

Shahero viewed her friends. Sonia; who was still sleeping, Arista; who was sitting up, flipping through a Video Game magazine, and Amber who was tugging on her socks, trying to get them on without ripping them apart. Aspin was in the shower, and Miyami behind her. Ruin was staring up at the ceiling, a far away look in her eyes. She seems dazed, Shahero noted, probably thinking up ways to help me torture Brent.

Shahero still had yet to pay him back for cheating on her. Sure she had beat the crap out of him a couple of times, she'd spilled paint on his car, and had teepee'd his house. She'd even signed him up for a birthing course, but it wasn't enough. Would never be enough to erase all the pain and hurt that aroused turmoil in her head. The mental scars had mostly vanished, though they would never completely go away, she knew. It hurt to be used like that, but she had gotten over it. Still was, though unbeknownst to her. She never realized that she often flinched when she thought back to memories of her ex, or how her eyes would dull and harden, to an almost black sort of shade. That was part of the physical pain that was left behind. She'd gotten herself sick, vomiting, not eating, never sleeping, constantly thinking what she'd done wrong, when in fact it was all Brent's fault.

Miyami noticed how stiff Shahero had gotten, she stopped brushing the now tangle-free hair, and patted her back.

"Are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"Huh?" Shahero looked back, smiled. "I'm fine."

And just to prove it she jumped off the bed and grabbed a pillow, flinging it across the room at Sonia. Miyami looked skeptically, not falling for Shahero's act.

Sonia awoke with a start, her eyes open in alarm. She sat up, pulling the blankets around her as if that would stop the onslaught of pillows. Her blue, blue eyes narrowed when she met the glinting mirth in Shahero's.

The Australian sighed, then fell back down on her fortress of pillows, desperately seeking sleep. Her mind was a complete blur of missing thoughts, and absences. She tried to fill in the blank, trying to remember what she had done the following evening. All she could remember was how good Ozuma had looked. Though in her opinion, he always looked good. Her eyelashes fluttered closed as sleep seeped into her body, lulling her brain into a comatose state.

"Meh." Amber stood up after stuffing her laces in her worn out runners.

"What's the point of shoe laces anyways?" Arista asked out loud.

"To tie them." Shahero deadpanned.

"No, I mean why though? Do they make it look better? They just take up time trying to untangle them, when really we could do without them."

Aspin stepped out of the shower, dripping from head to toe. She rose her eyebrows, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Gee, we're so evolved we're talking about shoe laces." She muttered sarcastically.

"Uh-huh."

Arista shrugged. She chucked her magazine at the violet haired female, ran in the washroom before something was hurled back at her.

--

Arista and Shahero sat eating ice cream, Amber was flicking French fries at people walking out of the shop. Miyami was sitting with Johnny, the two of them sharing a sundae together. Aspin was talking animatedly to Kane about something or other, he wasn't exactly paying attention, but nuzzling her neck instead. Aspin didn't seem to mind. Mariah and Rei were ordering lunch, Oliver writing down their order. Ruin sat beside Tala, Bryan on her other side. The three were playing SOS on part of the tablecloth. All in all, the Friars Rest was packed with students from their school.

Ambers gaze flicked to Kai's as he sauntered into the small hang out. He ignored the fact that the object of his thoughts and affection was staring him in the face, not knowing how to respond. The French fry in Ambers hand was rolled back on a spoon. At the slightest quiver it would launch, and the greasy, ketchup-covered food would land on the blunette.

His bone structure was godly, his complexion creamy soft and silky. His cheeks were rosy from the harsh winds outside as November reeled in. They had a glow about them, causing her heart to swell a bit. His eyes, the rich and deep mahogany, swirled, roaming the restaurant for familiar faces. He decided he wouldn't sit with Tala for Bryan's sake. He could feel Ambers gaze on him, he chose to ignore it for the time being and searched for other friends to associate himself with.

Fuck, he hadn't known Amber would be here. Didn't she have a part-time job or something?

When he found no one but Brooklyn and Hitoshi, he decided to glance over to the side where Amber sat, the spoon and fry stationary in her hands. His gaze pierced through her, sending a chill down her spine. She was still in awe of how handsome he was. She had never really had a proper crush before, she wasn't sure what this feeling was, but it had hit her with all it's might.

Kai absently dusted a thin, filmy layer of frost off his jacket. Amber sighed, he was going to ignore her, just like she had been doing him. How was it that he could do this to her?

Her legs felt shaky, and weak. She gave a silent prayer to the Goddess that she was sitting down. Her hand shook slightly.

In an instant the movement had traveled through her hand to her fingers, to the spoon and through the French fry. It landed smack-dab on Kai's shoulder. Amber flinched, her eyes widening even more now. A sharp intake of air flooded oxygen to her lungs, but she couldn't seem to swallow. Couldn't tear her eyes away.

Kai had a look of mild annoyance. He flicked the fry off and turned, sat with Hitoshi and Brooklyn. Completely ignoring Amber.

If she was going to plan on apologizing he didn't want to hear it. He allowed himself to be drawn into Hitoshi and Brooklyn's' conversation about cars.

Across the small diner, Amber sat perplexed about what she should do. She wasn't going up to him, no doubt about that. She had to apologize to him though, about this and anything else she'd done to anger him. When he was mad at her she couldn't take it. Her enemies got mad at her, but he made it worse. Made her feel like she had a ton of leaden guilt on her chest, wouldn't be able to breathe until it was lifted.

She remembered when he'd kissed her. That same feeling, the one she couldn't place her finger on, rose up in her throat. She swallowed with some difficulty. Kai always got under her skin, it was the same problem now. She didn't want to deal with it, so she was pretending it never happened, pretending it never existed. That was what she usually did, but not this time. This time she couldn't run away from her problems, didn't want to face the fact she might actually like Kai Nicolai Hiwatari.

Arista and Shahero's squabbling broke her out of her thoughts.

"Nuh-uh, chocolate ice cream is better."

"Uh-uh," Arista argued back. "Butterscotch ripple is the bestest!"

Shahero gave a half-smile, closed her eyes and then reopened them. "Arista, choc-o-late!" She repeated slowly.

"Nuh-uh! Butter-scotch Ripple! Say it with me now," Arista smirked back.

"Oi, both of you shut up." Johnny rounded on them.

"No." They argued back.

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"Yes!" The shouted together.

"No!" Johnny shouted back.

"Okay, fine." They grinned together happily.

Johnny skulked and shoved a spoon full of sundae in his mouth, he let the spoon hang in his mouth, savoring the chocolaty taste.

Amber patted Johnny's arm sympathetically. "Don't worry, J. In a few years..." She paused for dramatic emphasis. "You might get over it!"

Laughter broke out from the occupants of the table, several eyes watched the group of friends situated on the far left corner of the Friars Rest. They earned several odd glares, causing them to laugh even harder.

"I wonder what they're laughing about?" Hitoshi asked Kai, noting that the two-toned blunette had hardly said a word. Hitoshi nodded his head towards Shahero and the rest.

"Dunno." Kai replied sullenly.

"Belyaev probably saw her face." Brooklyn replied absently.

Hitoshi snickered quietly. The red-head smirked, sipping his drink.

Kai shrugged. Arista and him got into trouble together sometimes. They had genuine respect for each. He really hadn't a problem with her other than her overt habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

What got to him was the fact that Amber had so easily focused her attention away from him again. He had caught her sneaking glances over at him. Losing himself to brood in his thoughts again, he turned, shifted his gaze elsewhere. Anywhere.

--

Arista watched the cars pass by outside the Friars Rest. She sighed, sipped her drink. It sloshed around in her mouth. She savored the flavor and looked glumly at the now empty cup. Around her, her friends either danced or were eating while Johnny sang.

_I carry the burden of losing rest  
Upon my shoulders  
And its weight seems unbearable  
Your tomb is where your heart is,  
I should have told her  
But within a secret so terrible_

Amber sat beside the Russian and ate ice cream, her eyes going cross from brain freeze every so often. Miyami started playing the keyboard as Johnny continued singing. Shahero strummed the strings of her bass, bringing it to life, following in Kai's actions.

_To cry is to know that you're alive  
But my river of tears has run dry  
I never wanted to fool you, no  
But a cold heart is a dead heart  
And it feels like I've been buried alive by love_

Hitoshi sat mesmerized by the blunette, he watched intently while she sang back up vocals with Johnny and Miyami. Kai was the only one who remained quiet, not wanting to sing. Beside him on either side Mystel and Brooklyn sat, playing cards. Although what game they were playing Hitoshi didn't care to notice. He was entranced by the tomboyish female on stage.

_If I should die before I wake  
Be the one my soul to take  
If I wake before I die,  
Rescue me with your smile_

If I should die before I wake  
Be the one my soul to take  
If I wake before I die,  
Rescue me with your smile

Ruin and Tala sat together, enjoying each others comfort. Ruins head was laid on Tala's shoulder, his arm around her protectively. Kane was drawing something on paper, mumbling and nodding his head with Ian and Kevin. Oliver was taking orders and serving the customers of his family's restaurant.

_The kiss of vanity you blessed me with, spiritual woman,  
Then you got someone insatiable  
Your home is there in the darkness, I should have told her  
Embrace the fire indestructible_

The silver haired female got up to throw away her empty cup to order an ice cream so she could get a brain freeze too. Amber sighed and breathed behind her. Arista smiled and followed Oliver around until he stopped what he was doing.

_To die is to know that you're alive  
And my river of blood won't run dry  
I never wanted to lose you, no  
But a cold heart is a dead heart  
And it feels like I've been buried alive by love_

"And how may I serve you?" He asked her pleasantly.

"I want ice cream," She grinned happily, "with lots of chocolates! Please."

Oliver offered a smile then left, only to return a moment later with her order.

_If I should die before I wake  
Be one my soul to take  
If I wake before I die,  
rescue me with your smile_

If I should die before I wake  
Be the one my soul to take  
If I wake before I die,  
Rescue me with your smile

Arista sat back down and began eating. She stopped after one spoonful to shiver, and shake her head. Amber laughed beside her, and pushed her half eaten bowl in front of her. She didn't really eat, and when she did it was hardly anything. Arista took a few breaths to get used to the cool numbing of a brain freeze and then took another spoonful.

_Oh, it seems to cry is to know that you're alive  
And my river of tears has run dry  
I never wanted to fool you, no  
But a cold heart is a dead heart  
And a desert since all has gone  
A cold heart is a dead heart  
And it feels like I've been buried alive by love_

Amber's gaze briefly rested on the dancing bodies in the centre of the hang out before they roamed over her friends on the stage. She met Shahero's gaze and gave a small grin, pointing to Hitoshi. Shahero, confused, turned and looked to where the raven haired girl was pointing. Her eyes narrowed into slits, and she lowered her voice so that it was barely heard over Johnny's. She used her left hand to give Hitoshi the finger. Hitoshi only ignored her gesture and smirked unmoved.

_If I should die before I wake  
Bring no one my soul to take  
If I wake before I die,  
Rescue me with your smile,_

If I should die before I wake  
Bring no one my soul to take  
If I wake before I die,  
Rescue me with your smile

Amber smirked. Hitoshi and Shahero would be so cute together... What was she thinking? Cute together? Yeah right! Shahero would bite his head off, regurgitate it, castrate him, burn him, then ship him off to Germany!

She chuckled inwardly then froze when her eyes locked with Kai's.

She wanted so badly to tear her eyes away, only to find she couldn't. She cursed him for having such beautiful eyes. She'd been able to ignore him for pretty much the whole week. In class, she's put as much distance between them as she possibly could. Arista hadn't even said anything. She was thankful for that. The loudmouthed teen was really good at saying the wrong things at the wrong time.

_I've been buried alive by love  
I've been buried alive by love  
Buried alive by love_

Kai watched her for emotions, anything that would help interpret what she was feeling or thinking. Pangs of hurt squeezed their way into his heart, leaving him feeling open and confused. Why did she have to be the way she was? Couldn't she just tell him what she felt instead of acting like he was Mr. Invisible? What hurt was that he knew her well enough to know how she thought. It hurt that she could shove her problems into the back of her mind and pretend that nothing had happened. That there was nothing between them.

_I've been buried alive by love  
I've been buried alive by love  
I've been buried alive by love_

A bunch of dancers started there way into a conga line led by Enrique. Johnny jumped off the stage, not wanting to do an encore even though the crowd cheered for one. Miyami jumped into his arms and they joined the line. Shahero nudged Kai, breaking his train of thought. She gave him her bass and jumped off the stage. But not before hurling water balloons at Hitoshi, soaking him.

Where she had gotten them, Kai didn't know, he turned around to put the guitars away. To his surprise he found a small supply of balloons filled with water. He thanked the Gods and Goddesses that Shahero was small, otherwise she would've taken all the balloons. He put the guitar in it's case, and put Kaeto's away as well.

Maybe his relationship with Amber was too serious.

That was the problem. He could fix that. If Amber needed space, she would get it. They'd have to trust each other before anything else could happen.

Yeah, he lifted a blue one in his hand. Friendship was the way to take it. Then slowly take it further. He looked around for Amber and took aim.


	12. Desecration Smile

13 Shades of Grey

Desecration Smile

--

Frost twinkled on the ground, glittering brightly. The sun shone down on the school grounds, spreading light scattering across the frozen soil. The trees were bare, glistening with ice. A small pond was frozen near the beginning of the forest to the left of the academy.

Arista came out of the doors of the building; she had just finished Brooklyn's lunch detention. Smiling giddily upon seeing the snow, she stuck out her tongue as far as it would go to catch the scarce snowflakes falling from the sky. A few landed on her tongue. She closed her mouth and savored the salty taste.

Her head was covered in a black toque, silver hair spilled out like silk. Her cheeks were rosy, her eyes gleaming, liquid-like. Her rainbow mitten-clad hands were stuffed deep into her pockets, serving as a shelter from the cold.

A chill breeze ran through the air, sending frost flying around, twinkling as it caught the sunlight. Arista felt like she was inside a snow globe. Snowflakes danced in the air, swirling around her, and then landing back on the floor.

She took a few steps down the stairs, carefully avoiding the icy parts. When she reached the fourth last step, she stopped, jumped down. Arista, luckily, landed on her feet and grinned in triumph.

She reached in her coat pocket looking for gum. She found some and took it out. Unwrapping it, Arista popped it into her mouth and started chewing. When it was soft enough, she started to blow a bubble.

While she walked, the bubble grew bigger and bigger. When she couldn't see where she was going, because of the size of the blue bubble, she stopped walking. There was no air left in her lungs, so she stopped blowing to breathe in and out.

Only to find the bubble still in tact. Her navy eyes went alarmingly wide; she blew air out again, agonizingly slow due to the lack of it.

It grew even bigger, and finally popped.

"Ah!"

Arista cried out. However, it was muffled because of the gum on her face.

Instinctively she took out her mittened-hands and tried to pull it off. The sticky substance stuck to her face, and stretched onto her gloves. Somehow in the middle of it all, she tripped.

The air whooshed out of her lungs, leaving her breathless and cold. Grumpily, Arista managed to get up. She frowned and pulled her mittens off, leaving them hanging off her face.

Struggling to get the gum off her face, she fell again. In the process, she bumped her elbow on her knee and yelped in pain. A numbing feeling spread its way to the length of her arm.

"Grr!"

A frown flirted with her lips, her eyebrows narrowed. Why had she done to deserve this?

She smiled sheepishly remembering that she had shrunk all of Brooklyn's clothes in the dryer. He wouldn't be too happy when he found out. Served him right for making her do his laundry. She had enough trouble doing her own. She either put in too much detergent, not enough detergent, or put in the wrong thing.

Standing up she stuffed her mittens in her pockets, dusted off snow from her hair out of her face. She tried to get the gum off her face, but it was no use. The sticky substance wasn't letting go. What got gum off?

She was interrupted from her thoughts though, because Amber and Kai rushed past her, sending her spiraling to the ground again. She grumbled, but was pleased that things had cooled off between them. The tension that had settled around them had made everyone else awkward too. Not to mention the fact that Bryan had wanted to murder Hiwatari as soon as he'd noticed Amber's increased resentment towards the two-toned blunette.

She watched as the two flung snowballs at each other, laughing like children. The thought made her smile. It was so good to have them back to normal. Or as normal as things got with Arista and her friends.

Absently she wondered where she could find peanut butter.

--

Amber whirled around so quickly that Kai bumped into her. His head banged on hers, but she recovered first. He never saw the snow coming and swore viciously when it collided with his face. He took a step back and blinked through lashes coated with snow. Amber laughed but quickly turned around and started to run as an evil smirk formed upon Kai's handsome features.

She yelped as something cold slid down the back of her neck to nestle inside her jacket. Kai's arms slithered around her waist, casually. He sure as hell didn't want to push his luck any further than Amber talking to him again. He felt like a little kid that had a plate full of cookies and a cup full to the brim with milk. And all for him. She turned around to face him, scowling with annoyance. He smiled, real and genuine, accenting his already striking face. His lips spread, showing his pearly white teeth in two rows. His cheeks, rosy from the windy conditions, were set on high cheekbones, accenting his nose and eyes, the colour of a deep, rich mahogany. Amber blushed but it wasn't visible because her cheeks were rosy too, no doubt for the same reason.

Her lips slid from a scowl to being parted slowly, as her gaze dipped down to Kai's lips, then to his collarbone, where his pulse beat steadily. When she raised her gaze to meet his eyes, she nearly drowned in the unfathomable depths. Unconsciously, Amber ran her tongue around her dry lips, swallowed loud enough for him to hear.

Kai's breath fanned on her skin, warm and comfortable like silk. His arms around her waist were about the only thing keeping her upright or she would have likely fallen. The snow in her back was melting, trickling down her back with little, tiny droplets. She felt heat creep to her neck as the cool, slick, water ran down her spine, tickling her mercilessly.

When she couldn't hold it in any longer, she grinned suddenly and then giggled, turning into a laugh as she tried to get the snow out from her jacket. Kai nearly swore again but caught himself just before the words that he would've regretted spilled out of his mouth.

Instead he smiled, hoping she hadn't noticed the disappointment on his face when she'd turned away from him. The smile didn't reach his eyes, but he supposed it wasn't meant to. He'd lost a perfect opportunity to prove that his kissing her hadn't been a fluke as she'd somehow convinced herself.

Amber caught the gleam of regret in his eyes, but ignored it. After all, what she didn't or couldn't understand, she would rather not deal with. His arms loosened their hold on her, but miraculously she could still stand.

"Cold, cold, cold!" She managed to say before she started hopping again to get it out.

Kai rolled his eyes. Amber was and forever would be an immature little girl. But she would be his immature little girlfriend soon enough, he hoped.

"If you stop hopping like a rabbit then I'd be able to he help you."

"If you hadn't put the freaking snow in my shirt I wouldn't need your help." She exclaimed impatiently.

"So you don't want my help." He made it a statement, rather a question.

"Aye, are you out of your fucking mind? O' course I want yer help. It's fuckin' cold!"

Kai gave a wistful expression, before he stood behind her and tugged back her jacket. It seemed impossible to get the snow out without choking her, since her jacket was zipped up to her chin.

"Take off your jacket, Ember."

"So you want me to die now too?" She asked grumpily.

"Yes, then I can bury you six feet under." Amber raised a brow at his sarcasm.

He gave a sigh and decided to explain. "No, but you probably will. Look, do you want the snow out?" Amber nodded, so he continued. "So either you have to unzip your jacket or take it off."

"Yeah, so what?" Amber retorted. She didn't want to freeze to death in the chill air, but she didn't want to catch a cold either.

"But your jacket only unzips a little bit because it's broken and you don't want a new coat." Kai explained.

"New stuff always takes time to break in." She complained.

"Do you want the snow out or not?" Kai deadpanned.

"I do, I do!" She replied snappily.

"I do too." Kai kissed the curve of her neck, savoring the taste of the floral scent before placing his lips to her cheek. "So where will our honey moon be...darling?"

Amber stood stock-still. Kai had kissed her. Again. Shit. Well half-kissed, but this was Amber! She stood frozen until Kai's voice wrung through her ears, sending her back to the world.

"Ember? Ember, are you okay?"

"I... you, I..." She trailed off again as her gaze wandered restlessly. Her blood rushed around her head, buzzing in her ears. What did he mean by kissing her? Did this change things between them?

She felt uncomfortable there, and even with her mind screaming to get away, she stood there like a stone statue. Frozen in time. Until Kai spun her around, making them come face to face.

"Kai..." His name just tumbled from her mouth, and she wondered what it would feel like to have his lips on hers.

He was way ahead of her, his gaze resting on her slightly parted lips as he inched closer.

--

Brooklyn picked up his clothes, or rather shoved them into his closet. He was actually going to miss having Belyaev around. He'd have to wait until next month to agitate her. It would just feel odd without her witty comments, or peculiar thoughts. She was so opinionated that he had actually grown used to her voice.

The way it dropped or rose in tone depending on her mood. Or the way it vaguely ran through Russia so when she spoke, her voice was accented. Some of her pronunciations were thicker than others. He frowned, how had he noticed so much about her? She used to be just a girl he could irk for entertainment. But he felt that he could talk to her like he was her friend.

Chuckling, Brooklyn shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Instead he continued to gather the clothes from the floor so he could chuck them into the closet and drawers. They felt strangely different in his hands. He picked up a black shirt.

He pulled it on over top of his white tank top, and groaned when it stopped short at the bottom of his ribs. Damn it, he was going to give Arista a good few chunks of his mind the next time he saw her. Even if he would miss her commentary, it would be good to be rid of her. She was damn annoying when she wanted to be and she knew it too, which made it even more annoying.

Brooklyn growled and stared down at his beloved t-shirt. This was just like her. So typically her to get back at him because he'd made the stupid bet in the first place. He knew she'd challenge him back was the reason he'd done it, and the fact that it amused him to anger her.

It was stupid, but he liked to get her angry. He liked to get under her skin, to get Arista all riled up. She thought that no one could get to her but she was wrong so he took whatever opportunity he got to prove her wrong. Then watched the results.

The same thing that Hitoshi did with Shahero, except for the fact that he was completely hung up on her, obsessed with the blue-haired tomboy.

Speak of the devil, Hitoshi ran in and slammed the door behind him.

His blue hair was wind-swept, and his breathing was the slightest bit heavier than normal. He was fit so a quick jog would not tire him out. However, a certain someone could.

Shahero's yelling was heard even with the door safely locked and closed.

"Hitoshi, I'm going to kill you and mutilate your body. Then I'm going to burn you to a crisp and ship you off to some crazy old lady so she can make cookies with your ashes, you bastard!" She breathed irately. "Then I'll have her send them back to me so I can feed Tyson!"

Brooklyn raised his eyebrows to the older male. Hitoshi gave that gallic shrug that could have meant everything or nothing. Brooklyn decided to let it go, wondering whether he really wanted to know or not. Better that he didn't, he comforted himself. Hitoshi had a sick sense of what was fun and merriment when it concerned Shahero Kaeto.

"What's with the shirt?" Hitoshi asked.

Hitoshi sat down on his bed and fished around for a magazine. He found one and started flipping through it, more interested in the rants still audible.

"Belyaev." Brooklyn almost snarled her name like it was something poisonous.

"You guys get to home already?" Hitoshi's voice rose at the end of the question, but his eyes held pools of mirth.

Brooklyn gave Hitoshi the one fingered salute then got a better idea. He went to the door and slowly opened it making no noise. Hitoshi's eyes were wide with panic and fear. He tried to get off the bed but succeeded in falling because his eyes were still on the door.

"You wouldn't." His voice was shaky.

"Try me." Brooklyn said patiently. He wouldn't really set Kaeto on Kinomiya, he just wanted to see that cool, collected facade fall and shatter.

Hitoshi got up, narrowed his eyes.

Brooklyn turned to lock the door only to find the handle was stuck or so he thought. Shahero had heard the door creek open a half of a millimeter and seized the chance with both hands in a death grip.

She checked the door and grinned smartly when it opened. Brooklyn fell to the floor with a small yell. Hitoshi, who had been angry at Brooklyn, now turned his attention to Shahero.

God, Mary, and baby Jesus, he would never make it out alive. Brooklyn looked to Shahero and almost burst out laughing. Her hair was sopping wet, water droplets formed and dripped to the floor. She was dressed in a skirt and a pale red tank top. Her feet were bare, save for socks. A devilish glint highlighted her sapphire eyes, her lips were set in a grim line.

She looked so funny because she was dressed as her own gender for a change. She wasn't wearing baggy clothes or the likes, so how exactly had Hitoshi managed this?

Brooklyn supposed he would never find out because Shahero pounced on Hitoshi sending them both flying into the wall. Hitoshi collided with the solid wall, Shahero landed softly on him, getting right to work. She punched his gut and made a beeline for his jaw, earning her painful groans from the male underneath.

Brooklyn supposed he should help but he wanted Hitoshi to suffer for his comment about him and Belyaev.

"Take that and smoke it in your pipe!" Shahero smirked, her face and body both radiating energy.

Hitoshi attempted to grab her hands but she had him straddled and from his angle, it just wouldn't work out for him.

Brooklyn sighed and decided he should step in now. He grabbed Shahero by the waist and plucked her off of his roommate.

Shahero kicked and punched, but Brooklyn wouldn't let her go. Hitoshi got up, swaggered a bit before regaining control of his legs.

He took the female from Brooklyn and smirked. He opened his mouth but Brooklyn shook his head.

"I don't wanna know… so just save it." He stepped aside and walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

"So, where were we Kaeto?"

"_We_ weren't anywhere, but _I_ was kicking the shit out of you!"

"I think we'll change the positions a little." Hitoshi corrected her.

"I don't think so, buddy."

Shahero kicked his groin and freed herself. Having had enough of Hitoshi to last a lifetime, she turned on her heel and into the washroom but not before grabbing some clothes from the piles on the floor. If she was going to have to wear a skirt for the day, well it had another thing coming. First, she would burn the clothes and then punch the living daylights out of anyone who had seen her. Then she'd send threats up to Heaven or down to Hell, depending where the bodies ended up.

First, she was going to change her clothes. How Hitoshi had entered the girls change rooms, she didn't know. She just knew that she would never shower in there ever again. No matter what the circumstances. She'd rather shower in her dorms' washroom than a place where some peeping Tom could get in.

After Shahero was done changing her clothes, she unlocked the door and came out of the washroom. Hitoshi was standing outside, smirking, waiting for her. Shahero narrowed her eyebrows and was about to walk past when he pinned her to the wall, making escape impossible. She struggled against him, but his patience wasn't that short. He'd make her his this year, or he'd never get over her. This was his last chance, last year, to make her like him. If he didn't accomplish this then he'd suffer from never knowing if she'd returned his feelings. Damned if he didn't get his way.

He held down her arms, and raked his gaze across her lips, settled in a pout. His smirk grew a bit bigger, before he lowered his mouth.

Shahero's eyes widened as she realised what he was about to do. She took a deep breath and braced herself. No matter how much she was attracted to him, she wouldn't get in a relationship with him. She wouldn't get hurt again. She wouldn't fall for someone who would end up leaving next year to go off to college.

--

"I…" Amber paused to think of a suitable reason to tell him to stop. When she couldn't think of any, she simply left it to him to understand.

Freezing him out wasn't quite possible anymore because her feelings were changing even without her consent. She knew she'd end up falling for him, something she didn't want. He would complicate things, and he'd probably end up hurting her. That was what she was scared of. Getting hurt.

She couldn't stand it because her dad had left her scarred and mistrusting of others. If her friends weren't there for her when she'd needed them the most than she wouldn't be who she was today. If she liked Kai, she'd have to spend time with him, and she'd have less time with her friends. She didn't want to be apart from them, she loved them so dearly.

Confusion circled around in her mind like a vulture and its prey.

--

Kai's lips curved into a small frown at her inward struggle.

"Amber…" Kai paused wanting to get her full attention.

"Huh?" She snapped out of her trance.

"Must I spell it out for you?"

His voice was angry and sharp against her dulled senses. She could feel his heart beating to the rhythm of her own.

"Did you say something?"

Annoyance flashed across his feature before he regained control of his emotions and gave her an incensed look.

She shrunk back against the overpowering gaze of his eyes. Had she done something wrong, she wondered.

"What did I do?"

The confusion on her face had him reeling, he took a deep breath.

"You did nothing."

_It's what you _didn't _do._

"Oh, okay." She faltered slightly, and then continued. "So what's wrong?"

"It's just that every time…" He had to choose his words carefully. "Every time I try to get closer to you, you push me away."

Amber recoiled at his blunt words and the sheer truth of them struck her hard. She gave a thoughtful look before a small smile appeared on her mouth.

"I guess I do." She glanced at his larger hand covering hers in a firm grip. "It's just that… I don't know what to do. I freeze up and then you get mad and I feel guilty only I don't know what I've done wrong so I can't fix it. Which makes me mad and then I just ignore you because it's easier to deal with. Or not deal with."

Her fingers twined with his lovingly.

"The thing is I've never felt like this before. It feels good but it's so different and I'm scared so I don't know what to do. I think I like you but I'm not sure because I don't know."

He stiffened, his fingers started to slide away from hers but she held them in place using both hands to keep them there.

"Wait, Kai."

He gave a grunt of compliance prompting her to continue.

She gave a sigh expelling warm air from her system. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Tawny eyes looked up to face him, wide and filled with confusion.

"Ember, you don't have to do anything if you don't want to."

He was not going to force her into being his girlfriend.

She rolled her eyes at his obvious statement. "I know that Kai-pal."

"So then what's the problem?"

"You really want to know?"

This time his eyes rolled heavenwards. "Yes."

"I'm… scared."

"Of me?" His eyebrows inched higher.

"No, yes. Maybe. I just don't want to get hurt."

"Amber, you can't live vicariously through everyone else all your life. You _will_ get hurt, it's life."

She frowned.

"That doesn't mean you can't get past it. I thought you were tougher than that."

Her eyes sprang to his, full of energy as she accepted his bait. "I am!"

"Yeah? Then prove it."

He waited for her to make a move. Her brows narrowed playfully while her mouth quirked into a smirk to claim his in a chaste kiss.

"There."

"Come on, Ember, you can certainly do better." He coaxed her gently so as not to push her away.

She rolled her eyes before reclaiming his mouth once again. She leaned upwards to deepen the connection before she probed his mouth. She elicited a yelp when she bit down hard on his lower lip.

"Score one for me." Amber grinned and stuck out her tongue.

The look on Kai's face had her grinning heatedly before she ran. He chased after her in the snowy courtyard.

--

"There you are." Brooklyn walked over to the silver-haired female. He sat down beside her companionably. She gave him a questioning look before returning to tend to the small thorny plant that would bloom roses very soon.

She clipped the protruding branches so that the buds would blossom into magnificent yellow roses. She couldn't wait until they flowered, they would be so beautiful.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?"

Brooklyn surveyed her scratched-up hands silently inquiring just why she would go through with this if it were this painful already.

"Well, I think it looks like you being careless again."

She turned to him, her face a mask of confusion. "What are you talking about?"

He pulled one of her hands in between his own and ran his thumb and forefinger along one of the many scores. She hissed, barely audible, but he smirked knowing he was right.

"Why didn't you just use gardening gloves? I mean even someone with at least one brain cell would be smart enough to think of that."

She rolled her eyes at his attitude of superiority. "Yeah, well, said person with one brain cell wouldn't be able to function properly. Second, I was using gloves but they were too constricting so I took them off. Besides, they're too big."

His gaze ran over towards the yellow latex gloves. Indeed, they were very large, he noticed. "So, why didn't you just use a smaller size?"

"You're quite nosy today. What do you really want?"

She watched him sceptically, regarding him warily with unease. She yanked her hands back from him grasp and stared inquisitively.

"Why now, Belle, what could I possibly want from you?"

"Well, I did get the new Spiderman. I also have headphones that work, oh and my plant."

Just to emphasize her point she picked up the potted plant and placed it in her lap protectively. One hand swooped around the large container it was in; the other supported the pot from underneath.

Brooklyn gave a bewildered stare and shook his head.

"First, I'm going to clean your cuts then I'm going to bandage and fix your stitches." _Then I'll have my revenge_.

Navy eyes were perplexed at the sudden kindness from the male who liked to make her miserable.

"Okay, fine. But only because I'm not good with bandages."

"You can say that again."

"Okay, I will. But only because I'm not good with bandages."

She smiled warmly and he rolled his eyes. He led her to his dormitory where he walked into the washroom to get the first aid kit. He opened it and got out some rubbing alcohol, bandages, and gauze.

Arista somehow managed to not fall down even with the mass of contents that littered the floor. She jumped onto the bed hoping it was empty under the visible lumps.

A loud groan was heard and Arista, surprised by the sudden noise, was taken aback quite literally as she rolled backwards on the mattress. She bumped her knees on the wall hitting her arm on the headboard. Books were knocked down from the bookshelf as she continued to roll sideways to escape falling debris.

"I wasn't even gone for a whole minute…"

Brooklyn stood at a loss as to how she had managed this.


	13. Friends At Long Last

13 Shades of Grey

Friends At Long Last

--

A loud groan was heard and Arista, surprised by the sudden noise, was taken aback quite literally as she rolled backwards on the mattress. She bumped her knees on the wall hitting her arm on the headboard. Books were knocked down from the bookshelf as she continued to roll sideways to escape falling debris.

"I wasn't even gone for a whole minute…"

Brooklyn stood at a loss as to how she had managed this.

Hitoshi jumped and pushed Arista out of the way as the bookshelf collapsed all together. The silver-haired Russian gave an exasperated sigh and started to crawl towards the door.

"Almost there!" She was going to go wait in the hallway before she broke any bones.

She stopped and viewed the sock-clad feet of Brooklyn standing by the door, barring her exit and any hopes of escape. Instead, she decided to change her course of actions.

She stood up and walked calmly to the window. She opened it without a hassle and stuck one leg out the window before she was yanked back inside the room. The window closed with a loud 'thud' and she was thankful her foot hadn't snagged on anything or it would have hurt a lot.

"You're wearing a skirt!" Hitoshi growled at her.

"What's your point?" Arista really didn't see the problem. The guys in the school weren't interested in her that way, so what did it matter if they saw anything?

Hitoshi sighed in annoyance. "We also happen to be on the third storey."

Arista rose a brow towards the older male. "And you're telling me all this because?"

He exhaled slowly. "Never mind."

Hitoshi pulled her by the arm and forced her to sit on his bed. When she tried to get up she was held down by Hitoshi who sent her a look that said what words simply could not.

She grumbled and muttered profanities and insults under her breath. Brooklyn gave a small smirk and resumed his task of gathering supplies to bandage Arista's hands.

Hitoshi set about trying to gather the fallen books to reassemble the bookshelf. He grumbled about screws and nuts and wood while trying to use the aforementioned. Arista watched, her interest piqued at a chance to see Hitoshi do something wrong. Everyone knew he wasn't a hands on person. Although with Shahero, it was all he could do to not devour her.

She watched intently, hoping he would mess up soon so she could laugh at him. Much to her distress, he managed to stick it back together, although haphazardly at best. She sighed and resumed a bored expression.

She lay down, her legs still swung over one side of the bed. She whistled a song at random hoping to make time pass by.

Brooklyn pushed her legs aside as he sat down beside her. She grumbled in annoyance but sat up straight anyways. Brooklyn rolled his eyes when she grabbed the supplies from his hands and insisted on wrapping the bandages herself.

This only caused him to retrieve the items from her grasp and put them beside him. She poked him non-too-gently and made a reach for said supplies. He held onto her wrist, and with his other hand he used an alcohol-soaked cotton ball to wipe away at the blood on her skin.

She hissed in pain as the rubbing alcohol made contact with her wounds. Brooklyn noticed her state of pain but paid no attention. His lips curved upwards into a small smirk. She started to pull away from him but he only tightened his grip.

"Stop moving or you'll make it worse."

Arista glared at him but got bored when he didn't respond. She instead turned to Hitoshi, who was flipping through a text of some sort.

"What are you looking at?"

He turned round to face her. She pointed towards the book in his hand and gave a questioning look.

"Oh, uhm…" Hitoshi blushed profusely while trying to cover the x-rated magazine from his cousins eyes.

Brooklyn watched with idle amusement as Hitoshi tried rather vainly to hide his dirty magazine.

"Is that… ?" Arista's eyes caught site of the large, barely clad bosom on the cover of the publication. Her eyes widened then filled with mischief.

"So does Shahero know about your little secret?"

"What are you talking about?"

His tone was in stark contrast to his expression. His cheeks were red with colour, his eyes anywhere but on the other two occupants in the room.

"So… do you like have a huge supply of them? Or do you buy them and then hide them somewhere else?"

Hitoshi struggled to retain his composure while Arista berated him with questions.

Brooklyn, annoyed that the female was paying less and less attention to him, pulled tighter on the tenser bandage he was wrapping around said females wrist. He gathered the remaining part of the bandage and tied it up in a tightly-wound double knot.

Arista cringed at the severity and poked Brooklyn. "Too tight."

He sighed and untied it to wrap it looser this time. When he was done he glanced at her. "Better?"

His eyes were a soft shade of blue, she noticed. They reminded her of a pale summer day. She gave a small smile and nodded, then got up.

She jumped onto Hitoshi's back and asked him more questions about his guilty pleasures. Brooklyn's eyes darkened to lime green as he watched the relatives argue over whether or not Shahero was to know about what had transpired in the dormitory.

Brooklyn left them with a bitter look and exited the room. He proceeded to walk down the stairs to the first floor where he had been watching Arista tend to her plant earlier.

He walked down the stairs at a swift pace hoping no one had trampled the plant. He arrived and viewed the scene with displeasure.

Alas, someone had knocked it down to the ground. He looked around for suspects but saw none.

Sighing, he rolled up his sleeves so he could move the plant out of harms way. Arista was really more trouble than she was worth.

--

Arista teased Hitoshi about his newly discovered secret while he blushed like a tomato. Hitoshi proceeded to leave the room out of sheer mortification.

Arista laughed to herself whilst trying to think of a way to casually bring it up and tell the others. She could just out rightly tell them, although she didn't want to get Shahero on a rampage. What if she tricked Hitoshi into admitting it in front of everyone? That would work, although Hitoshi would pay her back big time and that was no good.

With her luck it was just too risky. She folded her legs under her continuing to ponder the task at hand. She put a finger to her chin and mulled about. Her eyelids covered her eyes while she thought about a possible solution.

The doorknob turned and opened with a click. Brooklyn stepped inside with the plant in one hand and a bag of soil in the other. He closed the door with a tap of his heel and walked around the bedlam of his dormitory.

Brooklyn hadn't noticed the female on his bed until he was standing right in front of her. She was sitting with her legs folded neatly under her. She had her thumb and forefinger on her chin. Her other hand was resting on her kneecap, her breathing quiet so it was hardly perceptible. Her face was calm and composed which was quite unlike her. He wondered what had gotten her so deep in thought.

"Oh, you're… still here?"

Arista's eyes shot open and she looked up in front of her to stare at Brooklyn. Upon spotting her plant in his hand she blinked before realization kicked in.

"What did you do?"

Her eyes flashed with anger. She made a move to seize the plant from him but he pulled away before any further damage resulted.

"I did nothing except save it."

Her eyebrows arched. "Yeah, right." Her gaze lowered to his hand, there were thorns stuck in his skin leaving cuts on the pale flesh. "I don't believe you."

He raised a brow and gave a reproachful look before sidestepping away from her to find a suitable container to put soil in.

She followed beside him trying her best to get her plant back. Brooklyn simply ignored her attempts and continued on with his work.

Arista pulled his hair hoping she would get a reaction. She watched his face for emotion.

Nothing, not even a grimace.

She lowered her head so that her eyes were hidden from view.

"Why did you do that?"

"I already told you, I didn't do it."

"I find that hard to believe." She lifted her head so she could make eye contact with the male. "Is this your revenge because I'm so horrible to you?"

He stopped tending to the plant so he could lock his gaze with hers.

"Why don't you believe me?" He paused before continuing on. "I didn't do it."

"I don't believe you because you've never given me reason to trust you." She tilted her head to shake her bangs away from her face. "Besides, if you didn't do it, then who did? The wind?"

He narrowed his eyes at her before turning away. "Fine."

"Fine what?"

"Think what you want… Here."

He thrust the potted plant into her lap before exiting the room. She cursed him under her breath and continued where he'd left off.

--

Brooklyn walked around the school campus hoping to clear his head. Arista's words wrung through his brain, dripping into every crevice like water from a tap. His brain pounded away in his temples making him irksome as her voice echoed through his head.

"I don't believe you because you've never given me reason to trust you."

Well, he could conceive how she thought that but it still stung him. Confused and irritated, he sat down on a bench and pondered the meaning of her words.

"…you've never given me reason to trust you."

Was she so mistrustful of him to think he'd do that to her?

He couldn't stop thinking about it. It was like Arista had invaded his head and made herself a permanent residence. He wondered what she was doing now. Was she still trying to transfer her plant from the broken vase to another container?

"I don't believe you."

Why was she so unconvinced? He really hadn't done it, in fact, he had been trying to help her. Did she think so low of him?

"Is this your revenge because I'm so horrible to you?"

Did she really think this was his way of getting back at her?

She wasn't all that horrible to him. Sure she was irritating, but her daunting remarks and dry humour kept him on his toes. He had to keep his guard up around her or else she would one up him. She was quick to insult him and point out his flaws, she didn't pretend to be someone else to get his attention. Heck, his attention usually focused on her whether he wanted it to or not. She was compatible with his personality and habits.

So… why didn't she believe him? He'd never do that to her, he didn't have it in him to hurt mother nature. Although his outside had a tough demeanour around her, inside he was really very invidious for Arista.

"Why did you do that?"

Her crest-fallen face was stuck in his head, stamping into his memory. Her blue eyes had been wide with confusion. She had looked so childish and adorable it had taken most of his willpower not to reach out and embrace her.

Still he didn't understand, he liked her, that much was obvious, to him at least. Why couldn't she see what was right in front of her? Why did she have to be so doubtful of his intentions. He wouldn't hurt her.

--

Grumbling to herself, Arista made her way to one of the biology classrooms. Her mind busy hatching ways to get revenge on Brooklyn. She came up with at least half a dozen ideas but she didn't think they would be very effective.

She put the plant into the nook of her arm to free her other hand so she could open the door to the biology classroom. She walked in and greeted the teacher with a small, hardly convincing smile. Setting the plant on an empty desk, she walked to the window and opened it for some fresh air.

"Ah, so there's the plant Brooklyn had. How is it?"

The teacher walked over to where Arista had placed her plant so he could examine it.

"Huh?"

She had been busy staring at the clouds so she'd forgotten about the other occupant of the room.

"How is it? I saw Brooklyn carrying it earlier."

The stout teacher hunched forwards and examined the plant with care.

"I knew he did it, that jerk! And then he lied to me." Arista's disgruntled face matched the tone of her voice to a T.

"What are you talking about?"

"Brooklyn. He smashed the pot and then tried to tell me he didn't do it."

The teachers face was one of confusion as he tried to process what Arista was talking about.

"That can't be true." At these words, Arista's face turned to meet with the teachers. "I saw him picking it up and trying to save it. It seems someone had knocked it over."

Arista's jaw opened but she closed it promptly so as not to show her emotions. The teacher walked away to fill a cup with water from the sink located at the back of the classroom.

Walking over to the window, she propped herself onto the ledge to sit. She sighed and slumped her head so her chin was resting on her collarbone. A few moments later her gaze traveled to the figures playing in the snow outside. She could see Tyson running away from Hilary, with Kenny heaving in tow.

She gave a small smile at their antics before she spotted a mop of ginger hair that could only belong to Brooklyn. He was looking heavenwards as snow fell down from the sky. She noticed he was sitting on a bench by the wall all by himself.

She cringed and decided she should apologize to him.

--

The sound of footsteps had broken Brooklyn out of his trance. He glanced in the direction of the sound, and upon noticing who it was, promptly looked away.

Arista sat down beside him companionably. "Hey."

Brooklyn took in the quieter, more feminine voice. He grunted in response to her greeting.

"What do you want?"

His voice was monotonous and direct; cold.

She folded her hands together and placed them in her lap. "I wanted… to apologize to you."

He closed his eyes and waited for her to continue on. When she didn't, he looked up to meet her blushing face. Her eyes were focused solely on the ground, her hands wrung together in her lap, folding and unfolding nervously.

He waited for her to go on. Noticing his movement, she looked up meekly and met his eyes. They were a soft blue, like the ocean on a warm, summery day. They were filled with warmth and affection.

"I didn't mean to jump to conclusions. It's just that… I don't think before I say things so… I assumed that… you…" Her voice trailed off into a murmur.

Inwardly, Brooklyn smiled. She was so cute when she was nervous like this.

Arista sighed as his expression stayed stoic. "Uhm… Anyways, I… just wanted to say sorry for earlier. I realise now that you didn't do it."

She gave a whole-hearted smile, disappointed that his face hadn't wavered even for a second from it's mask.

Timidly, she stuck out a hand to shake with him. He ignored he action and closed his eyes. She gave a dejected smile before poignantly getting up and starting to walk away from him.

Walking slowly, so as not to trip over the patches of ice frozen on the ground, she started her way back to the school building.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn opened an eye to watch her retreating figure. She was walking carefully on the ground so she wouldn't fall.

--

Arista kicked off her wet shoes, she struggled with her socks, ultimately landing on the floor. She grumbled and groped around for a light switch so she could see where she was walking. The blinds were closed, the room barren of any life forms save her own.

A sigh of despair escaped her mouth as light flooded the dorm to reveal the haphazard living conditions. She could so use some neater roommates. Not to say she didn't make more than her fair share of the mess. She stumbled around the room before making it to her drawer of socks. She reached in with one hand and fished around for a clean, dry pair of socks.

She pulled out grey socks with sharks to decorate them. She smiled and slipped them on her cold toes before pulling them past her ankles. She revelled in the new-found warmth and stood up. She also needed to change her clothes, she decided.

She fished around for a shirt or top that would be suitable in warmth. She found a woollen V-neck sweater, and after stripping herself of her school shirt, she tugged it on, albeit with difficulties.

Once it was on properly, she continued her search for clean pants. She found a pair of dark jeans and slipped them on under her school skirt.

Arista gathered her hair together and found a pencil to hold it in place. She found a book on the floor and picked up before exiting the room.

She made her way towards her usual reading spot to be shocked to see someone already sitting there, looking as though they had been waiting for her.

--

Brooklyn looked up at the sound of footsteps once again. Arista walked towards him with guarded emotions. Her face was unreadable even to Brooklyn's experienced eyes.

She sat down curtly then promptly began to read her book. Brooklyn waved a hand in front of her face, she merely turned away from him.

Brooklyn prodded her arm gently, she squirmed to sit at a different angle so she could avoid him and read peacefully. She turned the page before the book was grabbed from out of her long-fingered grasp.

She scowled and turned to face Brooklyn who was reading the back cover of the book.

"I think I'll read this."

She gave an exasperated sigh before reaching over to pull the book away from him. Brooklyn merely stretched his hand higher so she couldn't reach the book. She struggled before pulling away.

Brooklyn, who wanted to prolong this game, was disappointed when she had given up so easily. It was uncanny at the least for her to not even try to put up a fight.

His eyes watched her as she slowly breathed in and out, probably trying to regain her composure.

He smirked with amusement. It was so easy to get her worked up. He put his hand on her head before trailing down to pull the pencil from her hair. Her wrist clamped around his hand. She used her other hand to pry open his fingers, struggling futilely as he was obviously the stronger of the two.

She ignored this and continued on, ignoring the fact that she knew she wouldn't win against him. Brooklyn simply watched her with interest, his eyes changing from a pale blue to a mossy green. His skin warmed up from the contact.

Arista, having the feeling of being watched, met his amused eyes with her own fiery gaze. Brooklyn almost let her have the pencil then decided against it, he wanted to draw out her struggle.

Arista gave a loud exhale of breath at his childish antics. In response to his teasing, she pinched his nose roughly. Brooklyn yelped in surprise and dropped her pencil onto the floor. His hand was on her shoulder for support as she applied pressure to the sensitive skin of his nose.

Brooklyn pulled her hand away from his face and moved back a few inches in surprise.

"What the hell?" His eyes narrowed in her direction.

She scowled and snatched the book away from his side. She stood up and started to walk away. He got up and followed closely behind her like a lost puppy would follow its mother.

She stopped, turned around to face him. He gave a small smirk just to see her annoyed expression.

"What?" She placed her hands on her hips inquisitively, wondering why he was following her in the first place.

He gave a genuine smile before extending his hand forewords. "Arista… Let's be friends."

Arista's eyes widened, exposing her navy orbs completely. She have him a quizzical look that matched the confusion in her eyes.

"…What?"

Brooklyn's smile grew wider. "Let's be friends… Arista."

Arista questioned his use of her given name, but extended her hand none-the-less. "What happened, Adams? Did you get a heart?"

Brooklyn inwardly flinched, although his face was still housed his now waning smile. He wouldn't lose to her.

His large hand was warm around hers, almost completely encompassing her own smaller hand. She looked up and grinned. "Friends, huh?"

"Yes, Arista. Friends." Although it felt weird to call her by her first name, he decided he'd stick to it for now.

The two shook hands casually before resuming their former positions on the bench by the window.

Arista sat facing the window to look out at the snow-covered courtyard. She had only been out there this morning, apologizing to Brooklyn, and he'd refused. And yet, here he was asking to be friends with her. It confused her, but maybe she wouldn't have to be so paranoid about Brooklyn doing something to her or her stuff.

She opened her book and began reading.

--

Brooklyn awoke on Arista's lap. Her elbow was on his forehead and she turned the page of her book, reading intently.

Brooklyn frowned, was that book really more interesting than he was?

He yawned somewhat loudly.

She ignored him and continued to read her novel.

Brooklyn stretched, shifting her arms, but otherwise she remained immobile.

Irritated now, Brooklyn seized the book from her hands and tucked it into his pants pocket. She was forced to look down into her lap and meet his face. She sighed in an agitated manner.

"Give it back, Adams."

"No." He smirked.

She narrowed her eyebrows, before her hand reached down to his nose in order to pinch it.

Brooklyn, sensing her intentions, swatted her hand away from his face. She couldn't use the same trick twice.

She gave a loud exhale of breath before reaching down with her other hand to pinch his nose. Brooklyn, being aware of her motives, quickly held her other hand with his own.

He looked up to see her face, hair spilling around it to frame it nicely. Brooklyn enjoyed the view of her incensed features, knowing he had caused this reaction from her. Arista's lips curved into a scowl, she really wanted her book back.

Brooklyn moved her hands and simply took the time to study her features.

"What? Is there something on my face?" She broke her hands away from his grasp and ran them over her face and through her hair.

"No, I was just thinking--"

"Well, there's you're first problem." She snickered to herself inanely.

Brooklyn gave a dry smile and rolled his eyes. Not even a second later, they widened in shock when her hand dug into his pants pocket.

"The hell?"

Arista had her hand in his pocket searching for her novel but no such luck. She didn't find it.

His heartbeat picked up rapidly, beating from a steady pulse to an erratic rhythm. Arista, as usual, was oblivious of her affect on him.

Brooklyn blushed as her hand reached into his other pocket. Her forearm rested on his gut, creating tension in his body.

Arista fished around and found several items. She wrapped her hand around them and gently pulled her hand out from his pocket.

She spilled the contents on his abdomen. A pack of gum, two five dollar bills, some change, her book, and a lollypop.

She unwrapped the sucker and put it in her mouth. She stuffed the pack of gum in her pants pocket, before placing his money in her shoe. With her book in her hands once again, she continued to read where she had last left off.

Brooklyn, surprised by what had just happened, pulled her book down to view her face.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

She gave him a sparing look before replying. "I wanted my book."

His cheeks were flushed, his eyes a pallid indigo. His mouth was parted slightly.

"That's no reason to go into my pants!"

She gave him an estranged glance. "I hardly went into your pants, Adams."

Brooklyn's pulse was slowly returning to normal, his body regaining it's equanimity. His eyes reverted back to their normal forest green.

Arista watched them change colour and wondered how and why they did that.

"Hey… Adams?"

Brooklyn grunted in acknowledgement.

"Why do your eyes change colours?"

The question caught him off guard and so he only met her eyes with his own. Her navy orbs were speckled with ochre flecks. Her mouth was curved slightly at the ends, her small, quaint nose peering down at him. Her cheekbones stood out against the rest of her features, buttery skin glowed healthily as she watched him. Her hair was open, surrounding her face and shoulders.

"I don't know."

She gave a disappointed sigh and resumed reading whilst thinking to herself. She was so curious to know why. Maybe if she recorded the times and situations in which they changed, she could get the answer. She made a mental note to record this incident down somewhere.

"Hey… Adams?"

He looked up when she called his name. "Yeah?"

"Do you have a pen?"

"Why?"

She gave a penitent look for asking him, she really didn't want him to know why she needed a writing utensil.

"So that I can draw on your face." She replied sarcastically.

Brooklyn gave a look that clearly stated he didn't believe her. He started inquisitively for her to explain.

She rolled her eyes. "Curiosity killed the cat."

"Satisfaction brought it back." He replied with a smirk.

"I thought the cat got pregnant?"

Brooklyn chuckled lightly at her theory. At least his rhymed.

"Do you have a pen?"

"Yeah… in my pocket."

Arista grumbled incoherently before responding to his statement. "Well, since you were so defensive last time, you get it."

Brooklyn closed his eyes. "Nope."

Arista sighed exasperated and clucked her tongue before reaching into the fold of fabric to get a pen. Brooklyn's eyes snapped open and he blushed furiously just as she retracted her hand from his clutches.

He gave her a pointed look, pale eyes narrowing.

"Ah ha!" She examined his eyes and wrote along her arm the date and environment.

Brooklyn gave her a quizzical look before sleep reclaimed his weary mind.


	14. Get Off Of My Cloud

13 Shades of Grey

Get Off Of My Cloud

--

Blue collared crystals, made purely of sugar, fell on Arista's tongue. She sucked happily at the sugar. Her saliva mixed with some of the powder and hardened into a slightly wet solid-like substance.

Scowling in annoyance, Arista squinted with her left eye, peering into the cylindrical straw. Only to realize too late, she shouldn't have when the semi-wet sugar poured out, splashing her face and hair in a wave of blue.

"Shit!" Arista cursed rather loudly.

She was alone in the dorm, and was glad for it as this way no one would see her sticky situation. Growling in annoyance she shook her hair, spilling crystals all around her on the carpeted floor.

A sigh escaped her mouth and she frowned. Her face was sticky and blue in spots. Great, this was just like the time she'd gotten gum over herself. She'd only gotten rid of it with help from Oliver. He'd put something in her hair and it had smelled rancid, but it cleaned the gum out of her hair. Arista was glad to have a friend who knew about hair. If it was up to her she'd rather just shave off all her hair. It would be less hassle to brush it in the mornings anyway, she mused.

The knob twisted, and the door opened. An agitated Amber came inside looking cranky, while mumbling idle threats under her breath. Arista quickly stuffed her stash of pixie sticks under her bed and pretended to fix her bed.

Amber stopped when she noticed the other teen cleaning.

"What are you doing?" Amber raised her brow, staring in the direction of her Russian friend.

"What does it look like?" Arista huffed, untangling herself from the mass of sheets.

"You playing tug-o'-war with the sheets?"

"No." Arista exclaimed. She fell down, tripping on her comforter.

Amber snickered at the other females misfortune, then walked over to her and held out a hand. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad, she thought. Arista was always good for a laugh and a half if not more.

"So what are you really doing?" Amber asked again, sitting down on her bed, slinging her bag off her shoulders only for it to land in a heap on the bed.

"Breathing?" Arista replied nonchalantly.

The look on Amber's face was of mild annoyance. Her whiskey eyes closed, long lashes fanned out. She had a headache coming on, one thing she didn't want was to take meds. They just had the effect of making her feel off about everything.

"You know we have practice today, right?"

Amber eyes shot open. "We do?"

Arista nodded much to Amber' dismay.

"What's that on your face?"

"You mean my skin?" Arista quipped.

"No." Amber replied sarcastically. "I meant that blue stuff on your face."

The Russian female's eyes widened quizzically. "Err, I don't know what you mean."

No matter how smooth the lie sounded, Amber didn't buy it. She walked over to her comrade and looked around at the panicking teen.

"Okay, where's the pixie sticks?"

"What pixie sticks?"

Playing dumb wasn't one of Arista's strong suits because she generally knew what was going on. Amber smirked and pushed stray bangs of hair out of her eyes, pausing only to stare up at the slightly taller female.

An array of colour sticks poking out from under Arista's pillow caught the ochre-eyed teens eye. She side-stepped around Arista and darted for the sugar, managing to successfully grab a handful of Arista's treasures. Without thinking, Arista tackled Amber onto her bed, trying desperately to wrestle the pixie sticks out of Amber's hands.

The two rolled off the bed, landing in a tangled heap on the floor. Panting for air, they both got up slowly, and stared at the other.

"That was fun." Amber muttered sarcastically, dusting off her clothes. Arista followed likewise, pushing her hair away from her face so she could see clearly.

"You can say that again."

"Okay, I will." Amber gave a small smirk. "That was fun. Now can I please have some?"

Having to think about it for only a split second, Arista nodded heartily.

Amber's lips curved into a feline smile as she proceeded to open a stick and let the sugar drop onto her tongue. She hadn't had any caffeine and she was tired as Hell. If there was one thing she needed in life, it was good cup of coffee. As sugar entered her system she felt somewhat better.

Arista looked around the room, trying to figure out where she'd last left her connect four game set. It wasn't under the bed, Hitoshi and Amber had helped her clean that out a few days ago. Was it in the closet? She doubted it. The girls' closet was a landslide waiting to fall on whoever who was dumb enough to open it. So where could it be?

Deciding to take action, Arista began her fated search for her game. Amber walked over to the window where sunlight streamed in. Amber opened the window a bit and rested her chin on her elbows breathing in the cool air from outside.

After much searching, Arista had found her game under one the other girls' bed. She made a mental note to put it under her own bed when she was done. With sugar in their systems, the two female's started to pick out their pieces. Arista lost quite a few of the checker pieces so some of them were replaced by cardboard circles and different coins taped together.

Arista won the first game, she had yelled 'jinx' every time Amber had made her move. Amber had replied with reciting indiscriminate incantations to jinx Arista.

A faint tingling in the Irish teens temples reminded her that she was on the verge of a headache. She scrunched her eyes together, knitting her eyebrows in annoyance and massaged her head in a carefree fashion.

"I won't disappear even if you try hard enough."

Amber looked up and met the blue eyes of Arista, who had hastily emptied the game board. She separated the pieces between them before making the first move.

--

Kai sat on the school rooftop, not really watching his surroundings, feeling cut off from reality. Disillusionment circulated around him, engulfed him. A sigh of confusion was the only sound that was heard from his pale lips, aside from the irregular flow of his breathing.

It had been a few days since he and Amber talked. Every time she saw him she would make an excuse and bolt away. It irritated him because he saw her everywhere and when he took even one step in her direction, she somehow sensed this and was gone in the blink of an eye. They even shared the same circle of friends and had some classes together. He was growing steadily irritated by her actions towards him, or lack thereof.

Although she said she liked him, she wasn't quite sure if it was the same like that he felt for her. He had been relieved at first because she hadn't said she hated him. But was this really any easier? It seemed she only saw him as an acquaintance of some sort. Someone to blame for her misfortunes and mishaps. He wondered if he had been too brash with his actions.

A snowflake landed on his cheek, melted against his skin. He looked up at the snow falling from the sky, a beautiful, serene panorama of pure white.

It was so light, falling gently from the sky to become a blanket of snow on the school grounds. He wondered what it felt like to be a snowflake. Falling from the sky, landing, joining other flakes, freezing into ice, melting.

Mahogany eyes stared off into the bright sky and the wisps of clouds as the world continued to turn whilst despair nestled into the pit of Kai's heart. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair, royal blue fluttered across his forehead being led by the wind.

Knowing someone for practically your whole life left an indent in your own life, Kai had come to realise that long ago. What he hadn't counted on was falling for Amber. If you'd told him it were to happen, he'd have started crying from laughing so hard. Somehow over the years, the course of his feelings had changed, doing a complete flip. He's struggled to deny it, to divert his attention away from the Irish female, but to no avail.

Amber had undeniably grown on him. How had it come to this? Shaking his head, as if to release it of all the thoughts swimming around, doing hi-jumps from the board, Kai sighed and brought one leg up to his chin. He put his chin to his knee and closed his eyes.

Leaves flew around the empty yard below, trees blowing along to the soft howling of the wind. Snow glistened with sparkles, the occasional chirping of birds was audible. Kai paid no attention to this though, all he cared about was Amber. He was assured that she had climbed into his head and made herself comfortable, burrowing in there.

His mind groggy, he leaned back against the cold bricks, closed his eyes to fall into an uneasy slumber.

--

Bryan understood how Kai felt the way he did about Amber. She was likeable, and he felt the constant need to protect her, though she would say she was quite capable on her own. One time when they were younger, Bryan had left Amber alone in the kitchen alone for just a second and she'd burnt her arm out of forgetfulness. Since then he'd been pretty much wherever she was.

He loved Amber in the sense that she was special to him because of a mutual bond they had. They were the best of friends, having their share of memories that revolved around the two of them. He walked around on the snow-covered terrain in the school courtyard.

It was unusually warm out today so he was wearing his team blazer. His lilac hair blew gently with the refreshing breeze. His cheeks, normally pale, were the shade of fresh-picked strawberries as snow fell from the Heavens to land on the ground. After practise he usually liked to take a walk to cool off and regain himself.

What he was worried about was Kai hurting Amber. But now that he thought the situation over, he considered that Amber may unintentionally hurt Kai himself. This thought scared him because he knew that Amber was neurotic and might not get it right away.

He had wanted a word with the two-toned bluenette to tell him to keep away from his cousin, but when he'd seen what a wreck Kai had been, he didn't have the heart to add insult to injury.

The situation was complicated because of the history the two shared. Amber and Kai had basically known each other since they were in diapers. Amber would usually blame Kai for pretty much any of her misfortunes. Kai would tease her relentlessly. It was when they were growing up that the two had discovered their sharp tongues, often squabbling at something or another.

Not knowing what would happen when the two next confronted each other, he turned his gaze towards the sky. Much to his surprise he saw Amber sitting watching Kai on the rooftop.

Without thinking he called out to his favourite person.

"Amber?" It was more a question than a greeting.

"Huh?" Amber spun her head around to scan the landscape, searching for whoever had called her.

Bryan's lips curved the slightest bit. "Over here."

Ochre eyes followed the voice and met the icy blue of Bryan.

"Hi." She greeted him with a small smile.

Amber frowned internally, she didn't want Kai to wake up and see her there. Couldn't Bryan see that Kai was sleeping? She moved closer to the side of the school roof to get a better view of Bryan.

"Why are you up there?"

The Irish teen didn't know how to respond to his question. Just exactly why was she up here? She didn't even know herself. Okay, well maybe a little bit. She wanted to give Kai a letter that she'd written via Miyami's suggestion.

Mimi had given her the idea to write what she felt or wanted to tell Kai since she lost the ability to speak when he stared at her with his probing, molten eyes. Amber remembered that trying to explain something she didn't understand had always been awkward for her. Thus, Miyami had helped her to write the letter to Kai. She was grateful that she had at least one friend who knew something about something.

She crossed her legs under herself after sneaking a quick glance at Kai to check he was sleeping. She was a bit nervous to give the letter to him. She'd even put it in an envelope too. Why though, she didn't quite know.

Bryan's brow furrowed, he moved closer so he wouldn't have to raise his voice so much. "You didn't answer my question."

"Yeah, while I wanted to see the snow from above."

Amber's lips fretted into a grin. She stuffed the white envelope into her pants pocket, clasped her hands together, habitually wringing them together.

"Benson?"

Amber's head spun around so fast that her hair whipped her cheek in a non-too-pleasant manner. Tawny eyes stared into twin pools of crimson, an awkward silence was the only proposal of emotion that could be felt.

--

Arista sang aloud with her CD player. Her headphones secured snugly on her head so no matter how spastic she got, they wouldn't come off. Her hair was in ponytail that bobbed along with her head.

"We come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun to where the hot springs blow."

The uniform she wore was wrinkled and not neat at all in appearance. Her tie was around her waist acting as a belt while her plaid skirt was set at her hips, stopping short above her knees. She wore long black trousers that hid her feet from view and then some. Her shirt was smeared in paint among other substances. She tapped her pencil against her textbook in time with the music.

"The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands. To fight the horde, singing and crying; Valhalla! I am coming."

The other students in study hall were busy doing their own things as midterms were soon approaching.

Arista wasn't so worried about midterms as the other students so she frivolously spent her time doing just about nothing. Occasionally she would glance around at the other students but she soon lost interest after a few moments and begin doodling.

"On we sweep with threshing oar, our only goal will be the western shore."

She hummed out the beat of the song and tapped along to the drums with her fingers beating against the desk.

"We come from the land of the ice and snow from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow. How soft your fields of green can whisper tales of gore of how we claimed the tides of war."

She sang along with such fervour she failed to notice the red-head that crept up behind her.

"We are your overlords, on we sweep with threshing oar, our only goal will be the western shore. So now you better stop and rebuild your ruins, for peace and trust can win the day despite all of your losing."

Arista waited for the next song to play and idly glanced out the window at the school grounds.

An unexpected tap on her shoulder nearly had her falling out of her chair, but somehow she managed to stay upright. She turned around and saw Brooklyn, who formed a smirk at her scowling expression.

She shot him a glare before punching his gut flippantly. Brooklyn tsk'ed at her lack of feminine behaviour then made his way across to the other side of the table to take a seat opposite her. She moved her legs from under the table to sit Indian style in her chair.

"I bet you didn't know that if your wearing jeans and you rub against a chair, you can build up static electricity and shock someone."

Brooklyn gave an enquiring glance but otherwise he disregarded her claims to focus on his studies.

Arista shrugged a shoulder then continued to drum along the edge of the desk. She was unknowingly distracting Brooklyn as she hummed audibly. Said male stared at her with piqued curiosity, eyes changing from sky blue to bottle green.

Having the feeling of being watched, Arista opened her eyes to have her suspicions answered by a pair of moss green eyes. She questioned his uncharacteristic expression of a small smile.

Adams didn't smile, he glared, frowned, smirked, and sneered. What was he thinking?

She raised an eyebrow in his direction watching him with guarded eyes. Just because she had accepted his proposal to be friends didn't mean she trusted him yet. Trust wasn't built up so fast, especially when dealing with someone you had previously hated. Trust was something that was gained in time, she didn't really want to give him the go ahead to be all buddy-buddy just yet. It would take a while for her to get used to him as a friend rather than an enemy.

Brooklyn blinked, but other than that he continued to stare at Arista who was fast becoming annoyed of his behaviour.

She got up, stretched, subtly gave him the one-fingered salute, which he gladly exchanged, and promptly left the room to meander around the school's hallways.

Getting bored of the second floor, she wandered up to the third floor to continue her expedition. She let her hand run along the lockers which in turn made clinking noises as the locks rattled against the metal.

She peered into the classrooms, some were filled with students, others were empty. Having explored the boundaries of the third storey she proceeded to climb to the roof of the school. She heard a murmur of voices as she got nearer to the door that led outside the confines of the staircase. She pondered over who it could be but ultimately she decided that she would rather be alone in solitude for the time being as compared to being in the company of others.

--

"Benson?"

Kai glanced at her warily, eyes disguised behind a mask or indifference, why was she up here?

Amber truly depicted a deer caught in headlights. Her tawny eyes widened comically as she was discovered by the object of her affection. Her breath caught in her throat while her stomach did flips as he stared at her with an intense gaze that made her gut burn with fervour.

When he stared at her like that, everything else around her dimmed and a spotlight shone down and engulfed him like a flurry of flames. His face, although sleep-deprived, was still handsome. His hair was tousled by the wind, bangs sweeping his forehead gently before receding.

Ambers mouth opened but no sound was audible, her voice was gone, she couldn't find words to say.

"What do you want?"

Kai stood up, his hands in his pockets, he feigned apathy at her lost expression. He really wanted to console her, but his pride held him in place and instead he focused his gaze to a point just above her neck. He would not give in to her just to be let down and crushed when she pushed him away again.

Again her mouth opened, her throat was dry, parched. She was filled with an overwhelming amount of emotions that threatened to spill from her lustrous ochre eyes as heat crept up her neck and face. Just minutes ago she had been admiring Kai's sleeping form, then he'd woken up and found her.

Needless to say, her state of shock was fast dispersing to be replaced by anxiety. She started by clearing her throat and swallowing deeply as she screwed her courage together to give him the letter she'd written.

"Here." Her hand stretched out with the letter clutched tightly in her grasp.

"What's this?" Kai's gaze rested on the envelope in Amber's hand.

Mahogany eyes were slightly wider than normal with inquisition at the strange behaviour of the female that stood in front of him.

Amber's mouth opened and her voice wavered before she cleared her throat and tried to speak again. "It's… a letter for you."

Kai took into account the audacity in her voice and once again focused on the item in her tightly clenched hand.

Amber stepped forwards, closer to him, stopping just short of a foot in front of him. She raised her hands and loosened her grasp whilst motioning for him to take it.

He raised a brow but restrained himself from asking her any questions. He gently took the letter from her and started to open it so he could read the content of it.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Amber start to walk away. Thinking fast, he blocked her exit and stood in front of her so she couldn't escape.

"You have to stay here while I read this."

The tone in his voice had her heart beating erratically against her rib cage. She was surprised he couldn't hear the loudness of it, but she was even more shocked by his request. Or could you call it that since it was practically an order.

She lowered her head so that her hair overshadowed her facial features. A profuse blush crawled from the back of her neck to cover her cheeks in a rosy shade of red.

He merely picked away at the envelope until it opened, his eyes nervously keeping watch over Amber who was solely focused on the scuff marks that adorned her shoes. She refused to look up in the scarce chance that her eyes might catch his and she'd lose all feeling in her legs.

Kai carefully, meticulously pulled the paper out from the envelope. His long fingers unfurled the paper so he could read it. He took one quick look at Amber before his eyes shifted to the letter in his hands.

A deep inhale of breath signalled that he was ready for the worst. Without delaying the task at hand any further, he started reading.

--


	15. Of Snow, Shoes, and Sandwiches

13 Shades of Grey

Of Snow, Shoes, and Sandwiches

--

Arista continued to walk down the hallway. She noticed someone following her, and turning the corner, she waited. The sound of footsteps drawing nearer had her jumping out and yelling at red-headed male. She started him but he rapidly regained his composure and ignored her, pretending he wasn't following her. She walked behind him and poked his back in hasty succession. When he didn't respond to her, she turned the other way and left him on his own.

It took him a few seconds to register that she'd gone back to class, he blinked at Arista's hasty departure before calmly continuing to stroll the school hallways at a lethargic pace. He had followed her after she'd left the classroom to wander the school hallways. His hands were in his pockets, a sign that he was annoyed. His eyes coagulated, the mossy green changed to a cool, aquatic blue. A semi-grim line was set firmly on his lips, his mind straying to thoughts of a certain-silver haired female who seemed to preoccupy vast quantities of his mind.

He pondered just what it was about her he found attractive. She wasn't all that developed in terms of looks, but her personality made up for that and then some. She had a petulant mouth in regards to him and he found that very endearing. The fact that she made him react the way he did was a clear indication that he liked her a lot.

The red-head turned the corner and decided he'd go back to class lest he get detention for roaming around the hallways. A few minutes later he sauntered into class and sat down opposite Arista who had returned earlier. She had her head on her desk and appeared to be sleeping. Brooklyn grinned in her general direction before employing pencil shavings in her hair.

He figured it would kill some time, not to mention the look that would adorn her features upon realization of what he'd done.

His eyes sparkled with anticipation as to when she would wake up. Quietly, he reached into his bag and took out his notebook. He began to scribble notes down in a vague attempt to maintain his good student image. Several minutes later he put down his pen and paper in exchange for Arista's Gameboy, which he had realized was lying under her palm as he examined her.

He turned it on to play and was welcomed to Mario and Luigi. He turned the volume up and leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable as his fingers moved expertly over the keys to control the character on screen.

Blue eyes followed the movements of the little man as he jumped into the pipe and re-emerged. Brooklyn was soon growing tired of the game as it was repetitive and predictable. His gaze wandered to the still-slumbering female, her hair effectively covered her face so that it was hidden from view.

She stirred slightly in her sleep causing Brooklyn to focus his attention solely on her as she yawned and stretched before shifting positions and continuing her sleep-induced state of being.

He averted his attention away from her lest he wake her up from her doze.

Awhile later, the bell rang in a shrill, high-pitched cacophony of sound that drilled into Arista's ears in quite the unpleasant manner. She held her head in her hands and shut her eyes tightly in an effort to reduce the ringing that echoed in her ears.

Brooklyn looked on in mild amusement as she finally awoke. Currently, she was checking her surroundings, trying to regain her sense of environment. She shook her hair out of her face, pulled it into a ponytail and yawned before gathering her belongings into her knapsack. She waited for Brooklyn and the two walked together to the cafeteria in mutual silence.

Upon reaching the double doors, Arista pulled them open and spotted Amber laughing quite hysterically at something or other. Her feet walked her in the direction of the comedic scene which consisted of Ian with milk dripping from his face whilst Amber and co laughed at his expense mercilessly.

Having had enough of the mockery, Ian huffed and promptly stormed out of the lunchroom in anger and contempt for his fellow peers. Arista surveyed the group before sitting down glumly, her stomach rumbling audibly as hunger gnawed at her insides.

"Brother, could you spare some food?"

Her question fell to deaf ears however, as she was ignored in favor of laughter at Ian's dramatic exit.

Arista sighed heavily and slumped down in her chair. She noticed the lack of food at the table and wished profusely for someone to feed her.

As if on cue, Brooklyn sat down beside her with a tray full of edible food. Arista shimmied closer to him and smiled brightly before picking up half of his sandwich. She took a big bite before the sandwich was pulled from her grasp by the hands of Brooklyn.

The peeved red-head gave her a disapproving glance before biting into the bread, he chewed slowly to savor the taste. His eyes met the disgruntled ones of Arista and he felt a little bad for her since she did seem quite hungry.

He exhaled quietly before splitting the remainder of his sandwich in half, giving her the bigger piece. She smiled happily accepting it and bit into it with vigor as hunger once again made her stomach growl.

Brooklyn, who was also hungry, refused to share the rest of his lunch with her and so she switched her seat to the one beside Sonia, who gladly gave up a cookie and half her drink to Arista. Brooklyn felt himself grow a little annoyed when she did this, he purposely looked away from her.

"So what did you do?" Blue eyes locked with ochre.

Amber grinned and opened her mouth to respond but was beat by Shahero. "What didn't she do?"

Amber poked her roughly and ducked as her step-sister retaliated. "Nyah nyah, can't get me!"

Shahero merely ignored her and settled instead for nabbing food off Brooklyn's tray.

Said male gave a look of disapproval but aside from that, he did nothing. Arista looked on in shock as Shahero started to eat more of Brooklyn's food. She exchanged glances with Brooklyn and he simply shrugged.

Arista scowled and turned her head away, scanning the luncheon for anyone else she knew. Her stomach rumbled and she put her hand on it and petted it lovingly whilst muttering to herself.

Sonia laughed at her display of affection and shook her head. "Does that help it?"

"No, I don't think so.."

"So why're you doing it?"

"Cause it makes people want to give me food?" She turned her eyes to Brooklyn but he'd already finished his lunch.

"I don't think that'll work." Shahero deadpanned. She was sitting beside Hitoshi who was picking away at his lunch which consisted of potato salad, a burger, and pop.

Shahero picked up his burger and bit into it, she passed it to Arista who broke off a generous amount then proceeded to eat it.

Hitoshi noticed the exchange. "Give it back, it's not for you."

Arista grinned before taking a bite, but was saddened when Hitoshi swiped it from her and ate it all at once.

"That's not fair! You have a big mouth." She crossed her arms over her chest and slumped further into her seat.

"What does that have anything to do anything?"

"You can fit more in there."

"What's your point?"

Hitoshi raised a brow before taking a sip from his drink, Shahero followed suit.

"Since when do I make points?"

"Good point, you don't."

"So what do you make then?"

"Curves?"

"I vote for triangles."

Sonia shook her head, smiling lightly before getting up and walking towards Ozuma.

Arista watched her go, longing for food.

Brooklyn glanced towards her. "Did you eat this morning?"

She shook her head, silver hair spilled around her face. "No, otherwise I wouldn't be hungry."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few coins handing them over to her. She happily accepted and began counting the change.

"Hmmn, if I had two dollars more I could buy edible food."

"You could strip for money."

"And show what?" She replied inquisitively.

"You could put socks in your bra." Amber suggested unhelpfully.

Arista opened her shirt and looked down, she shook her head to Amber's suggestion. "My socks are too cool for that."

"What kinda socks are they?" Shahero wondered.

"They're black with silver moons and green clovers."

She lifted her foot and took off her shoe to show off her socks.

Shahero looked with interest. "Cool! My socks aren't nearly that exciting, they're just striped."

Amber looked at her own socks disappointingly, they were a plain navy blue.

Brooklyn rose a brow to their conversation but listened nonetheless.

A loud rumble was heard and Arista groaned. Begrudgingly she got up and looked around for someone, anyone she knew. She spotted Enrique and walked towards him, the two chatted amicably.

Brooklyn watched her go, followed her movements. She conversed with Enrique and laughed, Enrique put his arm around her waist and she responded by putting her arm around his. From where he was sitting he could plainly tell that Enrique was obviously flirting with her heavily as he did with any female. Arista, shockingly, was responding to him.

Brooklyn watched on in mild jealousy and curiosity. He wondered why she was all of a sudden being so responsive to Enrique. Said male moved his hand lower, moving it towards Arista's hip. She smiled and said something that made him laugh.

Brooklyn turned away and decided not to watch anymore. She could do whatever she wanted, she was her own person after all. That, however, hardly rationalized his anger and contempt for the blonde.

He was lost in his thoughts and only broke out of his trance when Arista plopped down beside him. She had a wallet in her hands and was searching furtively for any money that may be in there.

Brooklyn asked her something peevishly.

Arista looked up from the task at hand. "Huh?"

"Where's Giancarlo?"

She rose a brow. "I dunno, who cares."

"He gave you his wallet?" Brooklyn could see a picture of the blonde and some girl or other beside him in the wallet.

"No, I pinched it from his pocket. Ruddy bastard thought I was hitting on him."

She smiled happily when she found a crisp ten dollar note, Brooklyn mentally applauded her genius.

"Here." She threw the wallet at Brooklyn telling him to give it back to Enrique. "Tell him thanks."

Brooklyn shook his head and watched her weave her way through to the servery, disappearing from view.

A few minutes later, Enrique walked towards him seeming somewhat annoyed. "Have you seen Arista?"

"Yeah, she just left." Brooklyn answered truthfully.

Enrique sighed and sat down opposite the redhead.

"She told me to give you this." He threw the wallet to Enrique who caught it. "And to tell you thanks."

Enrique rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "I thought she'd finally given in to my charm."

Brooklyn snickered lightly. "As if anyone could resist." He replied sarcastically.

Arista appeared with a tray full of food, smiling contentedly. She sat down and promptly began to eat, effectively sating her appetite.

"Did you buy that with my money?" Enrique asked her.

She looked up and met blue eyes. "Not if you didn't want me to."

Enrique looked at her with saddened eyes. "You could have just asked me to buy you lunch."

Arista felt a pang of guilt strike her insides and she suddenly felt bad for the male. She switched seats and sat beside him, offering him half of her food. She reached into her sewed on pocket and pulled out the change she'd received, gave it to him.

"Are we good?"

Enrique nodded, gave a happy smile.

Brooklyn watched the two in mild amusement, albeit wishing the blonde would leave so it would just be him and Arista at the table. Most everyone else had left the caf since the period was ending soon.

Arista bit into an apple and chewed happily before turning to look at her companion who'd poked her.

"Can I have some?"

She took another bite before passing the apple to Enrique, who took a huge bite before handing it back to her. He took a sip of her drink and then exchanged it for her sandwich. She gave the apple back to him and broke a cookie in half, eating her piece before she took a swig of her drink.

Just as she was passing Enrique his piece of the cookie, Brooklyn reached out and ate it from her hands.

"Hey! That wasn't yours."

"It's mine now."

"Apparently." She wiped her hand clean of crumbs on her skirt. "Don't eat from my hand, you have cooties."

"You're one to talk."

Enrique looked to Arista, blinked. "Do I have cooties?"

Smiling, she patted his head and ruffled his hair. "You have the most cooties of anyone ever."

She swiftly locked her fingers together and then wiped her hand on Brooklyn's shirt. Having finished her half of lunch, she jumped to a standing position and gathered her knapsack. She waited for her fellow cohorts before exiting.

--

Black hair was pulled roughly into a ponytail before a hat was placed on top said head. Amber grinned triumphantly at her success and put her hands at her hips to emphasize her win. She had beaten Arista and Shahero sledding down the hill and thus one of them now had to pull her up for the rest of the day whilst she rested her tired legs.

Shahero and Arista were a far bit away from her arguing heatedly as to who would cater to Ambers needs.

"You do it."

Shahero raised her brows in indignation. "Why should I have to? You do it!"

Arista rolled her eyes in reply. "Fine, lets take turns. You go first."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!" Shahero yelled loudly at Arista who stood her ground.

"YES!" She yelled back with as much vigor.

Johnny, who had been watching with amusement now placed a hand on either females shoulder. "Children, please."

Shahero turned to glare at him. Her anger and obstinacy practically radiated off of her in waves. Johnny gave her a waning smile before dragging her off and away from Arista who stood disgruntled and mumbling curse words under her breath. He shot her an apologetic look and shrugged his shoulders at her profanity.

Amber grinned and sat down happily in her sled, Arista in front of her, pulling her up the seemingly mountainous hill.

"For a runt, you sure are heavy."

Amber stuck out her tongue and flicked snow at her companion. Arista disregarded this and trudged up the snowy slope.

The smaller female relaxed into her sled, letting her gaze wander to a certain bluenette. She watched him as he stood next to Miyami, listening intently. Having sensed her presence, he met her eyes and smiled, a small curve of his lips. This caused Amber's cheeks to warm up, a sliver of desire slid down her spine to curl up in her belly and rest there as she returned the greeting in kind.

She was drawn out of her reverie when she nearly went flying out of her seat as Arista sped up and ran towards the top of the hill.

"Woah!" Her hands clamped down on the sides of her sled lest she fly off into the snow.

Arista turned to look behind her and smirked at an annoyed Amber. "I have to keep you awake somehow, what with lover boy over there sending you wanton looks and all."

Amber narrowed her eyes and lunged forwards, leaping onto Arista's back. The two tumbled forwards with Arista landing face first in the snow. Amber sat on her back exultantly with a satisfied smile gracing her features.

Arista was struggling to get up, squirming under Amber who sat happily atop her. She clenched her fists and exerted a great effort to get Amber off her back, quite literally.

She managed to gain a few inches forwards but aside from that she was stuck under Amber unless someone helped her. She was quite doubtful of that however, as Kai was absorbed in his reading, Johnny and Shahero had gone off to plot heaven knew what, Robert was a right arsebucket, and Brooklyn seemed to be watching them with a peculiar fascination. From her limited vision, she couldn't see anyone else but she did know that Brooklyn was laughing at her predicament as she heard his chuckles amidst the snow in her ears.

"Help me you jerkwad of earwax!"

Brooklyn walked over to the two and surveyed the scene with mock interest. Amber was sitting on Arista's back with contentment as said female looked on in exasperation and anger towards him. Amber merely swatted his hand away when he offered it to her.

Upon having done that, Amber shifted positions, straddling Arista while she gathered snow to put down her back. As soon as the cold substance made contact with Arista's skin, she yelped loudly and writhed under the Irish teen.

"Argh!" She struggled profusely as Amber continued with her actions. "Get off me!"

Arista managed to grab Brooklyn's ankle as he was standing in close proximity. She clasped both hands around his ankle as tightly as she could manage, he in turn started to walk away from them in order to free his leg but due to Arista's death grip on his ankle, he dragged the two along with him.

Arista groaned as snow went down her shirt and in her shoes while she was being dragged along the snowy ground. She slowly inched her way closer to Brooklyn and shook herself violently in order to remove the person from her back, who fell off with a startled thump.

Arista scrambled to her feet, regained her bearings before she clambered up Brooklyn and attached herself to his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"I choose you, Brooklyn-mon. Go!"

"I'm not a Pokémon, you know that right?"

"Don't be silly, I know all. Now use your agility to get to the top of the mountain."

Brooklyn rolled his eyes at Arista's command but nevertheless, he scaled the hill to the top as she'd directed.

"Now, use Magnera to pull the sled towards you!"

"That's from Kingdom Hearts!" Amber chided. "It won't work."

"Says you!" Arista prodded Brooklyn's back with her fingers. "Come on, do it already."

"What, and spoil your fun?" An inclined eyebrow was the only show of emotion on his otherwise unreadable face.

Arista frowned and jutted out her bottom lip. "This isn't working out too well." She drummed her fingers along her jaw line before sweeping hair out of her eyes.

Amber simply watched the two as Brooklyn proceeded to trek upwards. She knew that Brooklyn had befriended Arista, but this was still something that shocked the eyes were someone to witness it. Usually Brooklyn would be picking on Arista and calling her out on her faults. She in return would plot his demise and threaten him endlessly with her jibes and provocations.

She wondered just why he'd had the sudden change of heart. Before she could further delve on these thoughts, she was distracted by Shahero who ran behind the two and jumped on them. She landed skillfully on Arista's back and held on for dear life.

Brooklyn turned around and was inches away from Arista's face just as Shahero's head bobbed about behind her. Arista chuckled sheepishly and tightened her own grip on the male. If Shahero fell, she didn't want to fall as well.

Brooklyn rolled his eyes and shifted his weight so that he could properly support the two on his back. He uttered something of future revenge before he quieted.

Upon reaching the top of the hill Brooklyn sat down, the two behind him landed under him with dull thuds. Shahero yelled loudly as the weight of two bodies pressed into her, causing her to sink into a snowy cushion of cold. Her small physique was being crushed by Arista who wasn't all that much bigger than her, but because Brooklyn outweighed them both put together, the two females were quite uncomfortably squished under him.

Brooklyn leaned back into Arista who pressed into Shahero, he stretched out his arms and clasped them together behind his head. He gave a small smile and took a deep breath.

"What a nice day it is today. Don't you guys think so too?"

Arista growled at his blatant attempt to rile her. "You won't be thinking for much longer once we get you off!"

Shahero let out a loud exasperated scream of frustration. "Fuckin' Hell, gerrof us you assjack!"

"I'm quite comfortable actually." He crossed his legs at the ankles, settled in to the bodies under him.

Arista flailed about but to no avail, she could only gain a few inches before Brooklyn readjusted his position.

Meanwhile, Amber watched with mirth clearly evident on her face and reflected in her eyes. She walked slowly towards the trio and surveyed them thoroughly before she jumped onto Brooklyn's stomach, sitting cross legged, her elbows on her knees with her hands supporting her chin.

"Hiya!"

Brooklyn made a show of wincing before he recollected his composure and straightened out his legs. Beneath him, Arista and Shahero struggled to breathe as even more weight was pushed atop them.

"You're not helping Ams."

Amber moved her head to the side to view her sister and co. "I never would have guessed."

"So get off us already."

Brooklyn chuckled at the direct command. Amber didn't take too well to being bossed about.

As he'd predicted, said female crossed her arms at her chest and stuck out her tongue. "Kiss my ass."

"If only we were able to move about we could do that." Arista narrowed her eyes. "Among other things."

"I heard that."

"Good to know you've got ears, now get off!"

Amber rolled her eyes before she stood on Brooklyn. She quickly sidestepped and kicked him, narrowly avoiding his outstretched hand as he made to grab at her.

Using this as the opportune moment, Shahero used all her might to push Arista off of her before rolling sideways to escape.

Arista, clueless to Shahero's plans, could only shift slightly so that she lay sideways before Brooklyn fell back on her, his head resting on the backs of her knees.

She crawled forwards a little but was stopped when he grabbed on to her foot, she yanked her stripy-sock-clad foot out of her shoes and skittered to the side. Brooklyn held a shoe in his hand with a smirk evident on his handsome features.

He packed it full with snow and held it by the laces as he got up. He walked away from the three teens rather swiftly in exchange for Hitoshi's company.

The two started to converse about something or other whilst walking away.

Shahero breathed in deeply, filling her lungs with air and clutching her aching chest. Her ribs felt compressed and her stomach flattened even more so than it already was. With weak and slightly unsteady legs she got up to a standing position. She had to hold onto a tree to support herself lest she fall.

Her sapphire eyes were filled with annoyance, glinting as the sun caught them to further emphasize her anger.

While Shahero was recovering, Arista was searching profusely for the red-head who had taken her shoe. Her foot was submerged in snow, getting cold fast. She scoured the area for any sign of him but couldn't find him.

Muttering to herself quite audibly, she made her way over to Kane and Johnny who seemed to be throwing snow at each other. She hopped onto Kane's back.

"We're going hunting." She pointed in no particular direction. "I need me another shoe and a dead red-head."

Kane grinned and abided, starting to walk at a medium pace before he broke out into a full run upon spotting a glimpse of red which Arista loudly pointed out.

"Get that arsebucket of shit!"

The two were gaining on the suspected red-head. As they neared closer, they were crestfallen at the confused face of Tala. His brow was raised and his mouth slightly open.

"Why am I an arsebucket of shit?"

"You're not, we thought you were someone else."

Arista sighed heftily and continued to search the area for red while Kane explained to Tala why he had been wrongly accused of being an arsebucket.

"There! Get him!" Arista stretched out her arm and pointed.

"If you'll excuse us my good man." Kane bowed his head and set off in the direction Arista had pointed to.

Barely managing to not fall, Kane ran full speed ahead as he spotted Brooklyn. Said male turned around as he heard a war-cry and was met with the face of one very irate, very vehement Russian female.

She jumped down from Kane's back and hopped over to Brooklyn. She pushed him back into a tree and roughly placed her hands on his shoulders to block his path. Kane snickered behind them and watched with amusement evident in his azure eyes.

Arista narrowed her eyes and glared forcefully at Brooklyn who smirked in response.

"Why, hello."

"Give me back my shoe!" Her teeth ground against one another as she restrained her anger.

Brooklyn smiled and held it up by the laces, it dangled beside him. Arista's eyes traveled to her shoe and she snatched it from him before sitting down to put it on. Her foot was damned cold and curse Brooklyn if she got sick.

As soon as she'd done up the laces she stood up then paled. Her shoe was wet and cold, that shouldn't be she thought. Her toes were getting colder if possible, she noted with contempt. She took off her shoe and shook her foot to get rid of the snow that had collected. Not wanting to lose her balance she placed her foot in the snow only to jerk it back out as it made contact with the cold snow.

Kane laughed at her misfortune before walking to her side and offering her his arm to lean on as she hopped her way to the school.

Behind her, Brooklyn watched with mild annoyance as Kane put an arm around her waist to help steady her. Not wanting to let opportunities pass, he quickly walked over and walked in front of her, he kneeled slightly and motioned for her to get on.

Arista punched his spine in spite before she reluctantly abided to his hospitality. Brooklyn flinched slightly as she did this but masked it and started to walk once she was on. He pulled her hands around his neck to secure her before placing one of his own over them.

Arista disregarded this and rested her chin on top of his head. Her foot was wet, cold, and tired, much like the rest of her she mused. She yawned and closed her eyes before slowly reopening them to a world of white frosty flakes.

--

Okay, so I'm an arsebucket of flypies for not updating sooner. I suck in this department because my brain not only likes to wander off, it tends to run away and hide from me so I oft times spend a good amount of time searching for it. Forgive me for my tardiness and lame excuse, but are you not at least glad that I did update? Review please?


	16. Above the Winter Moonlight

13 Shades of Grey

Above the Winter Moonlight

--

Perpetual sneezing was the only noise that was heard from the otherwise silent room aside from the occasional sniffling and murmur of profanity. A lone figure lay on a bed, an unhappy expression displayed upon shadowed eyes and pale skin. Around the bed, blankets were strewn on the floor with no regards to being in the way of someone else.

Stifling a yawn, the female spread out her limbs and closed her eyes. Arista had decided to skip her afternoon classes as Johnny and Kane had carried her much to her protest into her room, shutting the door behind her. For awhile they'd posted Ian as guard but he'd only tried to get in and pester her so they had quickly replaced him with Spencer who left once the bell had rung.

Thus, this was her predicament, she was sick with a cold that kept her from attending classes. She could barely speak her mind before she had to sneeze or clean her nose. Where all that mucus came from she had no idea.

She coughed harshly as a long-time smoker might and groaning, rolled over to her side and pulled her knees up towards her chin.

"Shitter-curds of piss-pie." She cursed angrily before sniffling.

"Gee, doesn't that sound delectable."

"Bugger off."

Clumsily, she grabbed a pillow and threw it where she thought the voice was coming from. Without bothering to open her eyes and see if she'd hit her intended target she buried her head into the mattress of her bed, sighing heftily into it.

"Come on Belle, you can do better."

Brooklyn walked over to the edge of her bed and pushed her legs aside before sitting down.

Incoherent grumbles were heard from dry, chapped lips as Arista turned to face him. She blearily opened her eyes and pinned him with her glare.

"To what do I owe this displeasure, Dicky?"

Brooklyn rolled his eyes at her irritability, decided to ignore it. Instead he placed his hand on her forehead, feeling her temperature. He gave a faint smile, happy that she didn't have a fever, he pushed stray hairs out of her face before retracting his hand albeit reluctantly.

She glowered at him for disrupting her although from what she was unsure. She was supposed to have been sleeping but she'd only managed an hour at the most due to her incessant sneezing. She turned on her side and pulled the covers to her chin. Brooklyn persisted to gather her hair together, a brush in his free hand.

Her already flustered face deepened in colour as Brooklyn attempted to tend to her tangled, messy hair. "I'm trying to help you."

She jutted her chin out then reluctantly got up, drawing her comforter around herself, she sat on the floor, her back against the side of the bed. Brooklyn smirked at her disheveled appearance, and he couldn't help but be attracted to her as she mumbled irately. He patted her head teasingly before shifting his position so he could tame her silver hair.

He gathered the strands that fell from his loose grip and slowly set to untangle the knots in her hair. She hissed in pain as he struggled with a particularly stubborn one. He eased his strength and softly separated the pieces. She winced a few more times to let him know that he was pulling too hard and such, and a few times she did so on purpose to annoy him.

Brooklyn rolled his eyes as she yelped at his touch, he pulled her face upwards so that he could see her eyes. She smiled sheepishly and stuck out her tongue at him. He lowered his head so that his eyes were directly above hers. His eyelashes connected with Arista's, she blinked at the closeness, wondered what he was up to.

Brooklyn's blue eyes stared into her own, his long lashes tickled Arista, she smiled and closed her eyes and upon reopening them, met the glazed moss green of Brooklyn. She made a mental note to write this down somewhere or other as he continued to stare at her.

She raised her hand to poke his forehead, but he had sensed it and let go of the brush so he could stop her. Once he had a firm hold of her hand, he laced his fingers with hers.

Arista concentrated on not blinking, she didn't want to lose this staring contest, but her eyes were watery and his eyelashes kept brushing her own. Brooklyn looked down into the depths of her eyes, taking note of every detail, every amber fleck, the fathomless navy blue, her pupil and iris. He was so distracted that he had failed to notice the tears that trickled down her cheeks until they made contact with their interlaced fingers.

He blinked suddenly, breaking out of his trance and heard a faint cry of happiness that he registered as Arista cheering.

"Haha! I beat you! I win!" She gave a wide toothy smile, blinking the remaining tears from her eyes.

Brooklyn inwardly sighed, she had taken this to be a staring contest. Despite this, he gave a small smile and ignoring her, continued to brush her hair into a neat bun.

Once he deemed her hair presentable, he got off the bed in order to search for clothing he suspected was clean. Arista watched him but soon grew tired as he searched profusely and thoroughly, she clambered her way to the window to open the blinds. Glorious, bright sunlight danced in, casting shadows everywhere. Arista blinked hastily as her eyes were blinded, she ducked into the safety of her comforter and groaned half-heartedly.

The truth was that all she wanted was to get out of here and go outside, anywhere, and do something, anything, besides sleeping.

A sudden chill invaded her as Brooklyn pulled away the blankets around her. She grumbled and tried lackadaisically to win them back from him. Despite her not-so-great efforts, he had won, throwing Arista's blankets behind him in no general direction, he helped her up and handed her a green and navy tartan skirt and a tank top.

Brooklyn's female companion roughly grabbed the clothes from his hands and started to tug off her white button down shirt. In her haste she had forgotten to unbutton the shirt and had successfully gotten her head stuck. She flailed her arms frantically and before she could react, Brooklyn had started to unbutton her shirt.

Having successfully removed her top, Brooklyn got her tank top and started to pull it over her head, not failing to notice her star-patterned bra. He purposely grazed his hands along her sides as he pulled the top down to her waist. Goosebumps began to appear upon her arms, she rubbed them in an effort to warm them before she began to search for a sweater or hoodie. Upon spotting one of Amber's, she pulled it on over her head and smiled happily as her arms warmed up.

Brooklyn rolled his eyes at her, and then handed her the clean skirt she'd discarded a few seconds ago. She rose a brow when he continued to stare at her after having handed her the skirt.

"Turn around."

Brooklyn rose a brow. "You were perfectly fine with exposing your… upper half."

"That shirt," She pointed in vehemence towards the said piece of clothing, "tried to devour me whole!"

Brooklyn smirked chidingly before turning around so that his back was to her. Arista unzipped her skirt and sidestepped it whilst pulling on the clean one.

"Now then, let's escape from the confines of this chaos."

Arista jogged to the door after pulling on her shoes, she turned the knob, and stepping outside, waited for Brooklyn to follow before she closed the door.

"Do you know what month it is?"

Brooklyn watched her figure as she walked swiftly in front of him, leading the way to wherever it was she was going.

"Yes, I do."

"Do you know what time of the month it is?"

Arista looked back at him, grinning devilishly. "Time for your menstrual cycle to kick in?"

Brooklyn rolled his eyes while exhaling quite audibly. "No, Belle, I don't menstruate."

"Only because you're breasts aren't fully developed. Just wait two years and you'll start to see your best friends as pads and tampons."

She snickered as he gave her disproving looks laced with irritation. As they neared the corner they heard voices.

"Actually, it's-"

Arista abruptly stopped walking, Brooklyn narrowly missing her as he stopped behind her. When he started to walk again, she held her arm out, her hand connecting with his stomach to stop his movements.

"It might be someone who wants to keep me holed up in my room."

Brooklyn peered over her shoulder and recognized Shahero walking down the hall chatting amicably with Johnny and Ozuma. The trio rounded the corner and started walking ever closer towards Arista and Brooklyn.

"Oh no! if Johnny sees me he'll make me go to sleep! Quick, hide me."

Brooklyn rose a brow at her command. "And where exactly am I supposed to hide you?"

Arista looked around furtively, searching for anywhere she could disappear to. Upon finding only locked doors, she shoved Brooklyn in front of her and hid behind him.

"Hey Brooklyn."

Brooklyn nodded his head at Johnny in acknowledgement. Shahero smiled and waved in his direction as did Ozuma.

As they turned to go down the hallway, Brooklyn turned in time so that he faced them as they journeyed to their dorms. Arista grinned behind him and then bolted as soon as they were gone. Brooklyn ran to catch up with her his long legs easily catching up in no time. She slowed to a walk before giving him a thumbs up for his efforts.

"You owe me four weeks of servitude."

She made a face at his words, making sure he saw. "Don't remind me."

"Oh, but I must. It's the first week of December, need I continue?"

She paled slightly before placing her hands on her hips and facing him. "And what do you want me to do first, then?"

She glowered at him, waiting for him to speak up.

While, he thought, he wanted to ravish her into senselessness and make her quiver beneath him as he dulled her reasoning beyond comprehension.

He mulled his thoughts over and weighed them heavily before responding.

"Actually my dorm's in need of a good cleaning. I suppose we could start you off there."

"And here I thought you came to help me escape, instead you just wanted me to do chores for you."

Brooklyn shrugged gallicly, seeming to disregard her conclusions.

--

Perplexed as usual, Amber sat facing Kai's back. He had her letter in his hands and was reading it over thoroughly. The scowl that was set in her face was going to permanently etch itself into the curves if her lips if he kept taunting her this way. What if someone pulled it from his hands and read it? Or worse, what if someone photocopied it?

Didn't he understand that these were her feelings? Couldn't he spare her the humiliation and embarrassment of anyone else ever finding about it's existence? Aside from the never-ending mortification, she would never be able to think of Kai in the same light, or lack-there-of, ever again.

Feeling quite spiteful, she flicked paper balls into his hair and watched with annoyance as he turned around, a frown akin her own set upon his handsome features.

He turned away and continued to read her letter as she silently smoldered behind him.

_Dear Kai_,

_Um... I don't really know what to say and I don't really know how to write this but Miyami -and yes I talked to Miyami so don't be going getting your knickers in a twist, it'll only aggravate the stick up your butt and don't go getting pissy because this is hard! Really hard because you're Kai. Kai! I know you know who you are but well, weren't you sort of surprised when you figured out you liked me? I mean, we're... well something more than enemies and we're not exactly friends because you're more than a friend but I never really thought about you in a romantic sense because I thought you hated me. You make it seem like you hate me and then suddenly you're kissing me and it's nice and... actually between me and you, it was more than nice but if you ever- well I can't really deny it, can I? Cause it's written down and boy this is shit!_

A smirk flirted with his lips, causing them to curve upwards. His eyes danced with mirth and he snuck a glance over his shoulder at Amber as she fired a paper ball right at him. It hit his cheek and bounced onto his desk before he brushed it gently away.

_But it's good too because if I start acting weird, you can read this and know that I do have feelings for you but I have to work them all out but as Kai the boy I've known forever, I do love you because you're Kai. And you're really important to me. I hate when you ignore me, I like when you tease me even if it's hurtful because even so, you're still paying attention to me. I think, I need you to be patient. I know it's a lot to ask but it's scary because this could be something really, really good. You know me, I don't have to hide pieces of myself or tone down the sarcasm or the parts of me people find intimidating because if you like me, you like all of me, right? It's not just because I'm cute because... there are cuter girls out there and you're not like that, at least never to me, because we have history, and I hope I'm reading this right. You've seen what happened between my parents so you can understand why I'm scared stupid because if this goes wrong, we... it can't go wrong, ok? It just can't and I know that's stupid and idealistic and I know you're raising your eyebrow and your lip is curling and... that's so sad._

Kai's eyebrow dropped and his lip froze where it was as he read it over again. She did indeed know more than she let on, but that was just another part of the puzzle that he so loved to explore.

It was amazing, he thought. Purely amazing that she had felt this way, of course he had guessed and assumed but what were those compared to the written confession? Now that he thought about, confession seemed unfitting. Her declaration seemed to suit it better, but still he wondered if there was a better way to word it. He would dwell on it later though, as he continued to read her clustered writing and tried to maintain his rapidly beating heart in order to contain it from exploding.

_I need to get away from this letter or stop thinking about you. Either works. Let's put it this way, I don't want to lose you. Ever. You're just as important, sometimes I think even more important at times, as Tala and Bryan and you know they're important to me, right? Because you've been with me forever, in fact you're as important as Joe to me and you, of all people, will get that. I mean it's Joe and you're Kai. Don't play with me, ok? If you do, I'll hate you more than anyone in the world. More than my father- which would sound better if I was still twelve and extremely bitter towards him... but I actually would hate you! I wouldn't just be saying it, I would hate you! I'd hate you more than anyone because scarily enough, I think I love---_

"Ow" Hissing, whipped his head round and glared at Amber who met his eyes with a questioning glance. She jerked her head forwards and motioned to something in front of him.

He turned around and cleared his face, smoothly putting on his usual poker face with ease as he locked eyes with the teacher and responded to her question correctly.

--

Several hours has passed since Arista had entered Brooklyn's dorm. The mass of belongings on the floor seemed to be placed into several piles. Said female sat on the floor amidst the wreckage, trying to salvage her sanity as well as the state of the room. Of the piles on the floor around her, one was for things she wanted to keep, another for Hitoshi's belongings, one for Brooklyn's possessions, another for junk, for garbage, and of the remaining recognizable piles, there was one for garbage, and one where everything else got piled together.

Brooklyn sauntered out of the bathroom, purposefully bare-chested and naked save for his boxers. He spotted Arista with her back to him and crouched behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder. He peered down at the object in her hands as she twirled it around in her hands.

He reached his hand down to hers, intentionally brushing his arm along hers whilst grabbing the flashlight from her. She jerked her hands towards his in reaction and fumbled to get it back from him. His muscles rippled as he stretched his hand above his head and stood up turning his back towards her.

Arista sprang to her feet and walked over to him, taking notice of his muscles and how they moved with such fluidity. Brooklyn turned to face her and smirked at her deer in the headlights expression.

"See something you like, Belle?" He quirked a brow.

"Actually, yeah." She narrowed her eyebrows. "I think I do."

Brooklyn's eyes widened displayed his shock at her response and continued to stare her down as she walked up to him and snatched the flashlight from his hands.

He opened his mouth and froze as if deciding whether he should say something or not. She rolled her eyes. "You thought I was talking about you, didn't you?"

Brooklyn's mouth snapped close and he glared at her retreating form. She sat back down again and ignored the pleasant soapy scent of the irritated male as he paraded around the room in near-nakedness before finding appropriate attire to wear.

Despite her cool, nonchalant attitude, the fact that he was near naked had her heart beating faster and a heat crawling up her neck to flush her features. Deciding to ignore him, she busied her mind with cleaning.

Arista looked down at her hands, the silver flashlight was designed so that a single click of it's end would turn it on and off. Her fingers traced the aliens and stars that decorated the outside in bright, amusing colors.

Needing another pile of junk to sort out, she stood and traipsed around the room gathering whatever knick-knacks she could and collecting them in her arms. Brooklyn, having sensed an opening to regain the flashlight that so amused Arista, made use of this opportunity and nicked it from a pile on the ground.

She noticed his movements and hastily dropped the items in her arms and ran towards him. Before she crashed into him, she slowed herself down and stood face to chest as he was taller than her. She looked up and locked eyes with him angrily.

"I saw that."

"Saw what?" He replied coolly.

"Don't be coy, Brook, you know what I'm talking about." She placed her hands on her hips to show her frustration.

Brooklyn followed her hands as they rose to rest at her hips. He smirked purposefully and simply shrugged, stuffing his own hands in his pockets.

Arista noticed this and her expression changed as she rose a brow. "Did you know that if a guy has his hands in his pockets that he's got a hard-on?"

Brooklyn blinked once, then twice before he hastily removed his hands and held them up, the flashlight's key ring hanging onto his index finger. Arista chuckled while Brooklyn processed the sheer absurdity of her statement.

While he was busy being at a loss for words she lifted the flashlight off his finger and hooked it around her skirt so it dangled there.

"I don't even want to know who told you that or how you learned it, but it's not true."

His eyes, mossy green, met with the mirth in hers. "While, why else would you put your hands in your pockets? It's not cold in here."

Brooklyn looked taken aback, but quickly recovered. "I keep my wallet in my pocket," he pointed out.

"What's your point?"

"I also keep pens and change in them."

"Which is probably uncomfortable for you I'll bet."

Brooklyn rolled his eyes at her response and shook his head. "Why do I even bother with you?"

"And here I thought you purposefully did everything in your power to bother me."

"Sorry to not take more active measures to fulfill your fantasies."

"As if. My fantasies include a world without you in it's existence."

He glared at her to which she smiled guiltily and stepped forward, her hand outstretched. "I'm sorry, that was mean of me."

Brooklyn looked from her hand to the sincerity in her eyes and nodded. Reluctantly she withdrew her hand and settled down on the floor, sitting languidly and yawning. She hummed absently and continued with the piles she'd started. Brooklyn watched her for a few minutes before he went to his desk and opened his books to start on his homework.

Studiously, Brooklyn read his textbooks before writing information down onto paper. In between reading the assigned work and writing down the answers, he kept an eye on Arista, noticing her drooping demeanor with concern. She must be tired because she's sick, he mused.

He walked over to where she sat and gathered her hair together, clearing a view of her pallid face. Brooklyn felt her forehead and his eyes softened with concern at the sizzling contact that resulted.

Gently, he shook her shoulder, hoping to wake her from the semi-sleep she'd drifted into. Slowly, he cradled her in his arms and lifted her off the floor. She was warm and small in his arms, he noticed with detail. He walked over to his bed and placed her upon it.

She reached out her arms around his waist when he retreated from her form. "Cold." Arista murmured.

Brooklyn sh'ed her and pulled the blankets towards her and up to her collarbone. He stroked her hair gingerly then climbed into the bed, lying down beside her, his arm coming around her in protection.

Arista burrowed herself into his body and breathed labouringly as one with an illness tended to. The red-head beside her couldn't help but smile at her in this form.

He leaned closer towards her and inhaled her. The sweet, familiar smell of vanilla and raspberries flooded his senses and he queried whether or not he should kiss her.

Without thinking it over thoroughly, he pressed his lips to hers softly and kissed her. She groaned a bit, but vaguely registered what was happening and inclined her head to give him better access.

Brooklyn smirked into her mouth as he continued to kiss her. Her scent alone ignited something inside of him, and he probed her mouth wanting to delve further. His skin hummed as she made contact with him. Gently, he pulled back and her eyes opened hazily, blinking slowly a few times. Brooklyn watched her curiously, how would she respond, he wondered.

His mind ran through several possibilities and so he wasn't prepared for what he received when she closed the distance between then and kissed him, a provoking kiss on the lips that was enough to have him wanting to taste more of her.

Instead, she shifted so her head was tucked into the crook of his neck. She pulled her arms to her sides and moved closer to him for warmth. Brooklyn sighed, a light

exhale of air barely noticeable, and held her loosely in his arms while she drifted off to sleep. Moonlight cascaded from the window, the cold, still air of the approaching winter was trapped outside as the two slept peacefully.

--

When Arista awoke, she was alone on the bed. She yawned and stretched her arms, feeling slightly better than she had earlier. She tousled about beneath the heavy blankets piled on top of her and struggled to get off the bed. She managed to throw one of the many blankets off and sighed with some ease as she nimbly got off the bed and stood up. He legs wavered but she regained her footing and grounded herself.

She stretched her arms high, exposing her stomach before pulling her shirt down and smoothing her skirt out. She pulled her socks up so they no longer gathered at her ankles.

Yawning once again, she spotted Brooklyn sorting through the piles of stuff she'd made several hours later. She walked over to him and watched him with a sense of curiosity.

Brooklyn turned his head and watched her as she stretched and walked over to him.

"Feeling better?"

"I might be…" She trailed off, her eyes resting on his lips. She dimly had a feeling that she had kissed him or vice versa, but she couldn't quite place her mouth on it. Not wanting to beat around the bush, she decided to ask him.

"Did I kiss you?" Her eyes were swimming within the navy depths.

Brooklyn looked slightly taken aback, he stopped what he was doing and turned to face her where she stood.

"What?" A flustered look claimed his features. His ginger hair fell messily into his mossy eyes, his lips parted slightly in his bewilderment.

Arista stepped forwards with certainty, not taking her eyes off his. Had she been dreaming or had it actually happened? Was it part of her fever-induced hallucinations or had he actually kissed her?

Now that she thought about it, she wanted to know what it was like. She wondered, what _would_ it be like if she kissed him?

Not wanting to have only questions, she padded over to him and rose up to meet his steady gaze piercing her with its intensity.

"I wonder what it would be like…" She whispered against his lips and fashioned her hand to his cheek, cupped it sweetly.

Not wanting to think, and only wanting to feel and get an answer, she closed the distance and pressed her lips to his. Intuitively, he reached out and pressed a hand to her waist, the other working its way into her hair as she used both hands to cup his face, drawing him down to her.

He feasted on her mouth, sucking her lower lip and tugging at her upper. The heady sensation made his skin buzz as her hands slowly wound around his neck and played with the hairs at the nape of his neck. He groaned softly when she probed his mouth open to explore it thoroughly and quite methodically. One hand rested at his hip and played with the hem of his boxers, snapping the elastic against his skin. She ran her other hand past his ear and roguishly tugged at it before she traced his collarbone and rested her hand on his chest.

Arista, having thoroughly answered her question began to pull back only to have Brooklyn draw her in again as he inconspicuously pulled her against his body.

His blood stirred and simmered as the two continued to meld into each other. Arista could feel her pulse tripping in her throat as he placed butterfly kisses from her cheek, down her neck and to the base of her collarbone. Sharp, fierce pangs of want exploded within her as his hand climbed up her side quite leisurely and cupped her breast.

She ran both her hands over his broad chest and traced his muscles, loving the way they rippled under her fingertips. Brooklyn shuddered lightly and drew his mouth back to hers, wanting more and more of her taste. Quite willingly, she obliged and kissed him back with as much vigor. Body heat radiated off of them, showering them with its warmth as Brooklyn moved so that she was with her back against the wall.

His eyes were a very pale bottle green, she noted when she blinked and locked eyes with him. He breathed out slowly, his breath fanning her lips and tickling her. Brooklyn leaned forward so that his nose was level with hers. Her navy eyes were fathomless with their meaning and he struggled to regain his composure.

His hands had wound around her waist, loosely hanging on to the skin exposed by her shirt, which had ridded up. Arista could feel the warmth of them and was quite aware that she was leaning against the wall. Brooklyn dipped down and claimed her lips in a slow, tantalizing kiss that had both of them spiraling head-first into a pool of passion. Brooklyn nipped at her lower lip before invading the inside of her mouth where he ran his tongue along her teeth.

Willingly, she leaned into him and bit his lip before grazing it with her tongue and pulling away from him. Her hands rested on his shoulders and she looked thoughtfully into his eyes.

"Huh… so, that was… very interesting." She noted the sea green colour of his eyes and made a mental note to scribe it in someplace.

--

I know, I know… I'm a jerk for not posting sooner. I'm getting back into the swingering of things little by little however, so don't be too mad. I love you loads Gems!


	17. Les Misérables

13 Shades of Grey

Chapter 17: Les Misérables

--

Snow shimmered and fell as the red-head dusted his jacket before entering the café. He scanned the crowd roughly, looking for familiar faces. Upon hearing the rambunctious laughter of the crowd seated by the windows, he proceeded in the opposite direction and sat down by himself.

He sat down and ordered a coffee, wanting desperately to drink something warm in order to garner body heat. The cold wind outside had thoroughly chilled him to the bone, his long fingers were stiff and frozen as he pulled a note from his wallet to pay. Noticing a piece of note paper sticking out awkwardly, he scanned the paper, then proceeded to roll his eyes and crumple the note, stuffing it into his pants pocket. It was a note from Arista, she'd borrowed some money from him and was promptly going to pay him back as soon as she could. Arista was unpredictable, he never knew what she would do next. This intrigued him, but at the same time, it mildly infuriated him. He could never pinpoint what she was feeling or what she was thinking and that bugged him because he could figure out a person with ease.

With her it was like he had no sense of his own, and damned if he'd have to rely on hers alone. He could never wrap his head around her, and when he tried to she would just brush him off. Even after she'd kissed him, it was like she was still the same and nothing had changed.

Wasn't she affected, even in the slightest, by what had happened? He'd been mulling and brooding over this for the whole week now. This had resulted in him distancing himself from her and everyone else for that matter. He didn't like it, but what else could he do? He was just trying to figure her out. Hadn't she felt something when they'd kissed?

He was brought out of his thoughts by the waiter who winked at Brooklyn as he set the coffee cup on the table, walking away with a noticeable saunter. Ignoring this, the red-head drank the rich liquid, sighing contentedly as it's warmth seeped into his body, to which he was grateful. The world outside was cold and frozen, several layers of snow had piled over everything. The streets were filled with slush, the sidewalks amass with snow banks.

Once again, he broke out of his trance as Hitoshi settled into the seat across him, Arista clinging to him as she searched for warmth. The two were coated in a light frosting of snow, with rosy-colored cheeks and red noses. Arista coughed heavily before removing her jacket, Hitoshi copied her movements and removed his jacket and hat, shaking his hair loose.

Arista clambered onto Hitoshi's lap, pulling his long arms around her for protection. Brooklyn watched with mild irritation as she hid her face into the male's chest, rubbing her nose onto his shirt, at which he gave a small smirk. Hitoshi gave an exasperated sigh before reaching across the table for Brooklyn's coffee. He placed the mug on Arista's head and sipped thoughtfully. To his surprise the female didn't protest, instead she buried her head further into him and yawned, closing her eyes wearily in search of sleep.

Hitoshi rolled his eyes, since when was he a makeshift mattress?

Brooklyn snickered faintly.

"So what happened between you and Belle?"

Brooklyn snapped his gaze away from said female to meet the questioning eyes of Hitoshi. "What makes you think something happened?"

"Well, gee, it couldn't possibly be the way you keep fawning over her like a love-sick puppy."

Hitoshi winked knowingly as Brooklyn shot him daggers from across the table. "Shut up!"

"Don't worry, she's asleep," Hitoshi kissed her forehead and patted her shoulder for emphasis, "So what did Belle do?"

At the use of 'Belle,' Brooklyn kicked Hitoshi. "If you can call it something," he muttered more to himself than anything.

"Ow!" Hitoshi's smile waned. "Don't kick me again, territorial dickhead. So what was it that she did to get you so depressed?"

Brooklyn narrowed his eyebrows before taking a deep breath. "She kissed me!"

Hitoshi chuckled heartily. "So?"

"So what?" he growled in frustration.

"Do you seriously expect her to fall head over heels for you because of something like a kiss?"

Brooklyn looked away, not answering the question. The truth was that he had wanted her to feel exactly what he had felt when she had kissed him, or to at least realize to some extent what she had done. After all, ever since the 'incident,' for lack of better wording, Brooklyn couldn't get his mind away from the taste of her. He certainly felt plagued from all the constant thoughts he had about her, that much was for certain. She had definitely wormed her way into his brain, burrowing deep within it.

A slight chuckle from Hitoshi signified his view on the subject at hand. "You can't expect that from Bel - I mean Ari. Even if you kiss her with intent, she won't think anything of it. She likes to experiment, she's not just a girl you can pick at random."

"Don't you think I know that?" He ran his fingers through his hair, signifying his frustration.

Arista coughed and reallocated herself in Hitoshi's lap, resting her head on his shoulder. Hitoshi drank the last of the coffee, placing the empty mug on the table. He shifted Arista in his arms so that when he stood, she was partly leaning against him and the table.

Brooklyn watched his comrade's actions with curiosity before surprise etched its way onto his pale, Russian features. Hitoshi plopped Arista onto Brooklyn's lap and hastily zipped up his jacket. He mumbled something incoherently before nearly bolting out the door of the coffee shop and onto the wintry street. Brooklyn watched him go, following his languid movements as he fell into step beside Shahero and Amber.

Brooklyn sighed and glanced down at the sleeping form huddled in his lap. He rubbed a soothing pattern onto her shoulder blade when she murmured for warmth.

His fingers tickled her, and Arista blinked a few times before nestling into Brooklyn's shoulder, she yawned heavily, drifting into sleep once again as he resisted the urge to ravage her.

--

As she slept on his chest, he pondered whether or not to wake her. After all, she was sure to respond to a direct question, seeing as she asked so many of them herself. And yet again he settled instead for resting his head on her shoulder and sighing to himself in self-pity. Why was she so troublesome?

Despite his best efforts, his heart fluttered when she shifted in his lap, her face inches from his own, small lips tempting him as they parted to allow warm breath passage. It tickled his neck and he slumped back in his seat, deliberating on whether or not he should grasp the opportunity and make the most of it.

Closing his eyes, Brooklyn decided against it and took a calming breath. A second later, mossy eyes surveyed the female with warmth and caring, a look not lost upon an elderly couple who viewed the scene and cooed from a neighboring table.

Said male ignored this and rested his cheek on Arista's silvery head, sighing contentedly as he rested, falling into a comfortable, dream-less sleep. His arms snaked around her waist and held her in place, holding her close to him.

Arista shifted again so that her head rested on Brooklyn's shoulder, the spiky ends of her hair causing Brooklyn a slight discomfort as they tickled his collarbone. He murmured incoherently and rose an arm to push the hair away from his neck, swatting Arista's nose in the process.

She grumbled angrily and turned her head to his other shoulder, burrowing her face in his neck for warmth as customers stepped in, allowing the chilly air from outside passage into the café.

The two slept peacefully, lulled by the howling wind outside, seeking comfort in each others arms.

Several hours passed as customers entered the café and left, Brooklyn and Arista still sleeping comfortably in their corner. The employees didn't mind their company, nor did they have the heart to wake them until it was just about closing time.

Small hands shook Brooklyn's shoulder lightly and he murmured his annoyance. When the shaking didn't stop he opened an eye and warily glanced at the male waiter who had served him much earlier in the day. Brooklyn's eyes furrowed in annoyance as he sat up straighter, forgetting that Arista was asleep in his lap. As she slid out of his embrace, she knocked her head on the end of the table, yelling profanities as she felt around for the swell she knew would form.

"Bloody fuckin' hell!"

Brooklyn blinked before pulling her up and seating her on his lap. Arista was too disoriented to complain at his forcefulness, and sat still as he removed her hand from her head to check for the swelling himself. Feeling slightly awkward, Arista chose to busy herself by rubbing sleep from her eyes. She yawned and tried to stretch as much as she could in her current position.

She hissed as Brooklyn's fingers grazed her bruise, and he adamantly apologized several times. Arista nodded in understanding and proceeded to get off his lap only to have him pull her back.

She narrowed her eyes at him and frowned when mossy green eyes only stared back at her in the same fashion.

"What is it?" She rubbed the swell on her head absently, trying to numb her headache.

The red-head seemed quite flushed as she pinned him with her gaze. After another moment or two, he shook his head softly as if deciding against telling her whatever it was that was bothering him. "It's nothing. Are you okay?"

"I will be once you let go of me so I can get some ice."

He shifted and let go of her, nudging her off his lap before following her as she went to the counter to ask for ice in a plastic baggie.

"I'm Sorry," Brooklyn averted his gaze to the door, opening it and stepping outside, still holding it open for her with one hand.

"It's okay, I suppose." She walked carefully around the snow, as it had piled up quite a bit whilst they'd slept.

Their footsteps made crunching sounds as they started on the trek back to school. Arista fell into step behind Brooklyn as she adjusted her makeshift icepack from time to time. She gave a low growl of annoyance when she felt water trickle down her neck and into her jacket.

Her icepack was melting, damnit!

With a sigh of resolve, she chucked it into a nearby garbage and skipped to catch up with Brooklyn.

"Are you hungry? I'm hungry, let's get food."

Brooklyn viewed her suddenly cheery demeanor with a skeptic sigh of relief. If he bought her food, would all be forgiven?

As if reading his thoughts, Arista commented on how she didn't have any money.

"Come on, I'll buy us something." He pulled her hand gently into his bigger one and led the way to a convenience store on the other side of the street. He opened the door for her, following her inside.

Arista headed towards a shelf stocked with candy, gathering a few packets of brightly flavored sour gummi worms, soft chew candies, and marshmallow mushrooms. Brooklyn gave a sigh of despair at her poor choice, picking up two pre-wrapped sandwiches from the freezer before him. He knew this would bother her for the simple fact that he was always looking out for her, which made her feel like an incapable child.

Walking up to the clerk, he placed his items on the counter, going back towards the drink isle to pick up two cartons of milk. Arista was very much stuck between choosing the marshmallow mushrooms or the soft chew candies she was holding. The frown on her face created a crease in her forehead as she whispered "eenie meenie tiny toe, catch a brother by the 'fro, if he hollers, let him go, eenie meenie tiny toe." Her finger ended up on the marshmallow mushrooms, and she put it back in its place before joining Brooklyn in walking towards the check-out counter. They placed their remaining items on the counter and waited in silence as the cashier processed their order. Upon finishing, she announced their total.

Brooklyn took out his wallet from his back-pocket and handed a note over to the cashier who punched in some numbers, and waited for the cash register to open. With some difficulty in opening it, she handed Brooklyn the change and he and Arista left, walking outside and into the snow that had started falling again.

Arista skipped along happily, a gummi worm dangling from her lips almost teasing Brooklyn to snatch it from her. Arista eyed him curiously, extending the bag of candy, offering him some.

Brooklyn shook his head, rejecting the offer. As they neared another intersection, Brooklyn stopped, waiting for the lights to change colour before crossing the street. Since Arista was trailing behind him, her eyes focused on her packet of gummi's, she failed to notice he'd stopped and walking right into his back. As her teeth gnashed together, she bit her lip roughly, drawing blood, immediately spitting out her half-eaten worm.

"'The hell is wrong with you? Why'd you go and do that for?"

The red-head turned towards her, not failing to notice the blood on her lip. He swatted her hand away from her mouth and wiped away the blood on her lip, resting his thumb on the cut to stem the bleeding. Arista searched his face in annoyance.

"I'm not a child, you know." Her warm breath mingled with the cold air, causing her to shudder as removed his thumb, exposing her cut lip to the harsh snow and whirling wind, to cup her cheek instead. He used his other hand to nudge her shoulder in order to shift her backwards, so that she was leaning against the brick wall.

Very gently, he pinned her so that she was trapped between himself and the wall. Arista watched him carefully, wondering what his intentions were. His mossy green eyes were focused on her own navy ones, as he tried to read them.

Upon observing no concrete emotion, or just not being able to decipher what she must be thinking or what she was feeling, he pressed his lips to her lower one, sucking at the cut to stop the bleeding.

She gave a sharp intake of air in regards to his actions as he nipped at her lower lip, sucking gently on her cut. It felt a bit weird, but she ignored it and closed her eyes, choosing instead to enjoy the sensation. Seeing as her mouth was already parted, Brooklyn took the opportunity to glide his tongue along her lips, tracing them with a careful restraint not to devour her.

His hands trailed to the zipper on her jacket pulling it down so he could feel the smooth skin he knew lay under it. He pulled her sweater up so that his hands rested on her bare waist, buzzing as he made contact.

Arista was suddenly aware of the pair of cold hands on her waist, and she squirmed as the chill of them invaded her heat. In an effort to warm herself up, she put her hands around Brooklyn's neck, long having forgotten that she was holding candy. As she pulled him closer to her, oblivious to the candy, as it spilled on the snowy, wet sidewalk.

Brooklyn's rather labored breathing indicated his predicament, as Arista leaned forwards for warmth while his hands were busy roaming over her torso, exposing her stomach to the cold air. She quivered partly from the cold, but also from the red-heads hands, now drawing circles on her lower backside.

Her pulse sped up as he ran his tongue around the roof of her mouth, causing her to melt into him. In turn, he pressed closer to her while fluffy flakes of snow fell from the sky.

Wanting to explore his stomach, she undid his jacket and the first few buttons of his shirt. She pulled away slightly, as he gasped for air, trying to regain some self-control, only for it to be lost again as Arista kissed his jaw line. She placed butterfly kisses that trailed down to his collarbone, and then the hollow of his neck. She placed her lips on his rapidly increasing pulse, biting gently into his skin eliciting an audible moan from him.

His hazy green eyes dilated even further as she worked her way back up to his jaw line before finding his lips and claiming them in an equally alluring kiss for both of them. Brooklyn's desire for Arista was getting the better of him as he passionately pulled her flush against him, his broad hands running over her stomach, wanting to explore every inch of skin. She squirmed in his ever tightening grip around her, and attempted to push him away to gain some distance.

Brooklyn disregarded this, albeit loosening his grip a little bit, as he pulled at her lip, slowly breaking away from her. Her navy eyes pierced him with their intensity, and he swallowed thickly, not knowing if he should ask her the question that plagued his thoughts at any given moment.

"Belle," he whispered almost shakily, "do you… do you like me?"

The apparent confusion and obvious surprise on her face made his heart sink, and yet he allowed himself to hang on to a tiny glimmer of hope that perhaps she did feel for him what he felt for her, and was only taken by surprise due to the candor of the question. And yet, even as he tried to salvage the idea, the fist around his heart clenched tighter, constricting his chest as he waited, holding his breath for her answer.

Arista met his eyes unflinchingly, before taking a deep breath to answer what he already knew.

"No." She whispered monotonously.

Brooklyn searched her eyes for any hint of mirth, but it was as he'd suspected, she was being honest and completely serious.

His mossy green eyes melted into a pool of brazen deep blue. "What am I to you?"

Again, the silver-haired Russian was taken back by the question as she opened her mouth to respond, only to close it again as she tried to formulate and accurate response to the red-head's query.

"You're my friend… and my tormentor… and my boss the first week of each month."

Upon hearing the first answer, Brooklyn's heart eased a little bit, but as Arista continued to respond, whatever hope he had been so desperately clambering for, vanished immediately.

He scowled, an acute representation of his actual turbulent emotions. "So when we kissed, it meant nothing to you?"

Arista furrowed her brows in confusion. "It's just a kiss, it doesn't really mean anything."

Brooklyn gritted his teeth as the last few pieces of his heart exploded quite painfully at her words. He exhaled very quietly, as if trying to just simply focus on the act of breathing itself. His lungs ached from the lack of oxygen, and his heartbeat slowed to what felt like a standstill. He closed his eyes and released her from his arms, trying not to let her see the pain so apparent on his face.

"If it doesn't… if it doesn't mean anything, then why didn't you say something?" His breathing was shaky as he asked her, not actually wanting to hear her response, knowing it would probably hurt to hear it.

"I… what am I supposed to say? It was you who kissed me, by the way." She sighed, knowing it was no excuse, as she had responded to him and his ministrations. "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing you don't want to give me," he ground out painfully, "If it doesn't mean anything… if I don't mean anything… to you… I'll… leave you, I… I won't…"

Clearly unable to finish his thoughts, he took a few steps away from her, his head lowered as he stared at the ground ahead of him, starting to walk in the opposite direction of the school, away from Arista. A few seconds passed, quickly turning into minutes as Arista watched him leave, the snow obstructing him from her view, and then completely as he disappeared from her line of vision. She wondered whether or not to go after him, ultimately deciding against it under the current extremities of the weather. If she got lost, it would take her that much longer to get back to school. A frown flirted with her lips as they curved downwards while she tried to make sense of the situation.

She just wasn't attracted to Brooklyn, sure he was good-looking, and a good kisser, but he had and still did plague her as a tormentor would. What could he have been thinking? And yet, he was still her friend, and she valued his friendship, but it was just that, she didn't feel at all romantically inclined towards Brooklyn Adams. She sighed and shook her head to try and clear her head, why was she so upset anyways? She and Brooklyn could talk it out tomorrow, if she lasted that long she thought to herself as her stomach grumbled, aching with pangs of hunger.

She searched her pockets for her candy, and saw the gummi worms half-frozen on the snow-splayed sidewalk. She yanked at the zipper of her jacket in order to close it and get some protection from the harsh winter, instead she yelped when she it got stuck. Pulling at it roughly, she cursed as it snapped and broke. Sighing to herself, she pulled it closer around herself in an attempt to wrap it. Having semi-successfully succeeded, she knelt down and groaned as her fingers numbed considerably while trying to pick at them and see if they were still edible. Realizing it was a lost cause, she cursed and stuffed her hands in her pockets for warmth before walking brusquely to the other side of the street, mumbling and continuing to curse to herself about Brooklyn.

"Bloody git made me drop my candy! I didn't even get to eat Marvin, or Emily, or Raye, or any of the others. Their deliciousness was wasted on the snow when they could have been in my stomach making me not hungry."

Every time she cursed her bad luck, she was awarded a mouthful of snow, and so Arista decided against verbally venting her emotions. Instead, she concentrated on walking faster in order to make it back to the school. Snow continued to fall, although the wind had calmed down a bit so that only a faint howl was heard as it echoed occasionally. Arista walked as fast as she could, not wanting to be in the storm for any longer. Her feet were long-since numb as the cold had easily penetrated the holes in her shoes, soaking her plaid socks, only to be fortified by the pain in her stomach, which ached from the hunger of not having eaten since the morning.

Snow blew into her eyes, and she blinked rapidly, hoping the snowflakes would only hit her eyes as she closed them so that she could see ahead of her for any cars that might be passing by.

The female continued to walk, pausing occasionally to shake water out of her shoes. Heat flared inside her stomach with every step she took and she continued to curse at her disposition, then at Brooklyn, the hunger in her belly, her ripped shoes, the broken zipper on her jacket, her wet socks, and finally the weather.

Nearly an hour had passed since Arista had started on her way back to school after Brooklyn's departure. As she neared the front steps, she gave a sigh of relief upon almost reaching her destination. Elated due to being able to go inside and be warm, she formed a sprint to the door, nearly tripping on the front steps in her haste. A janitor opened the door for her and was thanked enthusiastically by the youth who wished him many successful, happy years to come.

Starting her way up the stairs, her eyes already drooping, she decided on staying in the mess hall, where there was a fireplace. Besides, it was a lot closer than her dorm, which was up a few more flights.

Pulling the rug located on the floor closer to the hearth, she decided she would sleep next to the fire. Walking over to the sofa, Arista pulled out one of the couch seats and placed at one end of the rug. She took off her jacket and lay down, placing the clothing on top of herself as she curled up into a ball. Almost instantaneously, she was asleep, her breathing calm and quiet as she rested.

--

When Brooklyn entered the mess hall, it was nearly two in the morning. He took off his wet, snow-covered jacket and threw it on the floor. The cold of the world outside had numbed his body quite scrupulously, and so he seated himself on a sofa close to the hearth to garner warmth from the fire. A sigh escaped his parched lips and he swallowed the lump in his throat with a dull pain.

The minute he closed his eyes, Arista's stunned features were visible in his mind. His heart constricted once again as the scene replayed in his mind. He was hurting badly, and had wandered around in the snow aimlessly to avoid bumping into Arista on the way back to school. To know that she thought of him as nothing, no, that she thought of him as a tormentor, broke his heart at the mere thought of it. How could she think that of him, he would never intentionally hurt her, cripes, he loved her more than he had ever loved anyone!

How could she tease and taunt him on purpose, with no real intention, or feelings for that matter. He was so enamored with her, why couldn't she see it, hell everyone else probably already knew.

Wrapped so deeply in his thoughts, he only faintly heard a ruffle of fabric. He hadn't bothered with the lights, as he figured no one would be in here so late. Scanning the area, his blue eyes spotted a small figure lying underneath a jacket right in front of the fireplace.

Brooklyn got out of his seat to walk towards the body, a fist squeezing vehemently around his heart as he spotted a sleeping silver haired female, the very one that weighed heavy on his thoughts and his heart.

He watched her sleeping quite comfortably and longed to join her and stay by her side, but he knew that he couldn't, not now, maybe not ever. Arista didn't love him, she didn't care about him in that way. He needed to get over her… but how could you stop yourself from loving someone, especially as much as he loved her. He brushed misplaced hairs away from her face and pulled her jacket up to her chin.

Absently, she turned on to her side, facing Brooklyn as he tried to collect himself. What would it take, he wondered, for Arista to realize what she meant to him, and how badly he wanted her to love him in return. What would it take to stop his pain, and cause pain to her, he wondered. What would it take to get over her, if that were possible.

Angered by the days events, and Arista's cruel words, he wrenched himself away from her side, walking away from her to retrieve his jacket. Upon doing so, he threw it atop Arista's jacket almost violently, very slowly walking away from her once again.

Startled by the sudden weight thrown at her, she'd woken abruptly, eyes wide in search of the source. "Is anyone there?"

Brooklyn stopped breathing upon hearing Arista's voice, he stood as still as possible, not wanting to be discovered by her. He couldn't talk to her in his current state and he was willing to bet Arista didn't have anything to say that would console him or make him feel better.

Silently, Brooklyn proceeded to exit the area, hoping that Arista would fall asleep quickly. No such luck he cursed, as he heard her stomach rumble quite audibly signifying her hunger.

"Stop it!"

Was she… talking to her stomach?

Under any other circumstance he would've taken the opportunity to rile her with a quip or just adore her characteristics, instead he quickened his pace in order to leave before she found him.

Brooklyn rounded the corner and headed for the stairs making his escape just as Arista cursed loudly when she stubbed her toe on something hard.

His heart was beating erratically as he went up the stairs towards his dorm. And he wondered solemnly what it would take to break Arista. After all, for the grief she was causing him, he in turn should only make her miserable in order to make it fair. He shouldn't be the only one with a broken heart.

Faintly, he could hear Arista cursing just after a loud thud, signifying that she tripped and fell. He continued up the stairs, ignoring the sounds as they faded completely.

In an attempt to get food, Arista had indeed tripped, although over what she didn't exactly know. A few more curses rang out in the silence before she decided that it was just too damn painful to try and attempt getting food at the moment. Warily, she maneuvered her way back to the rug and the jackets by the fire. She sat down, trying to find out whose jacket it was and why someone would throw it on top of her so sharply. Navy eyes churned with confusion, she recognized this as Brooklyn's jacket and thought absently of him.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, her face becoming quite heated for reasons other than her proximity to the fire.

Arista wondered where he was at the moment, and sat, watching the fire unblinkingly, her eyes watering from the heat. It wasn't as if she was to blame, after all, how could she help what she felt? And to try and change what she felt would be being a fake, which was just stupid in itself. How could she explain it without upsetting Brooklyn? She liked him, of course, they were friends. She'd come to rely on him for many a things and in turn helped him out if ever he asked, which was rare for boys, Brooklyn especially.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on her arms, sighing despairingly. She was hungry, upset, confused, and in need of serious sleep. She fingered said males jacket before folding it and putting it off to the side, away from her and away from the fire lest it catch aflame.

Teeth chattered unnervingly as the cold infiltrated Arista, chilling her extensively. Shifting her position so that she was leaning on the side of the wall away from the fireplace, she closed her eyes, silver hair spilling to her side. A large yawn escaped her lips as she fidgeted in an attempt to warm herself up.

--

A masculine hand played with the ends of Amber's hair as she slept peacefully in Kai's bed. Classes had let out awhile ago and Kai had insisted on helping Amber in the arduous task of attempting to complete her homework, knowing she would simply shrug off her bag and dump it in a corner, forgetting all about it until class started and it was to be collected. His other hand was holding a now faded note of line paper, nearly legible writing scrawled upon the crinkled page. He'd read and re-read it several times, yet his stomach still jumped every time he read it. Molten chocolate eyes warmed as his eyes started at the top of the page once again.

__

Dear Kai,

Um... I don't really know what to say and I don't really know how to write

this but Miyami -and yes I talked to Miyami so don't be going getting your

knickers in a twist, it'll only aggravate the stick up your butt and don't

go getting pissy because this is hard! Really hard because you're Kai. Kai!

I know you know who you are but well, weren't you sort of surprised when you

figured out you liked me? I mean, we're... well something more than enemies

and we're not exactly friends because you're more than a friend but I never

really thought about you in a romantic sense because I thought you hated me.

You make it seem like you hate me and then suddenly you're kissing me and

it's nice and... actually between me and you, it was more than nice but if

you ever- well I can't really deny it, can I? Cause it's written down and

boy this is shit!

He chuckled once more as he read through the introduction. It was so obvious by the wording that this was Amber's writing, or rather wording. He laid a kiss upon Amber's forehead and pulled her closer to his side, content when she curled up closer to him. Stealing another quick glance at the Irish teen, he continued reading her supposed love letter.

__

But it's good too because if I start acting weird, you can read this and

know that I do have feelings for you but I have to work them all out but as

Kai the boy I've known forever, I do love you because you're Kai. And you're

really important to me. I hate when you ignore me, I like when you tease me

even if it's hurtful because even so, you're still paying attention to me.

So he was important to her, good to know. The fact that she enjoyed the attention he gave her, regardless of whether his intentions were good or bad made his lips curve into a small smile. He affected her roughly just about as much as she affected him, if not more or less.

__

I think, I need you to be patient. I know it's a lot to ask but it's scary

because this could be something really, really good. You know me, I don't

have to hide pieces of myself or tone down the sarcasm or the parts of me

people find intimidating because if you like me, you like all of me, right?

It's not just because I'm cute because... there are cuter girls out there

and you're not like that, at least never to me, because we have history, and

I hope I'm reading this right.

You've seen what happened between my parents so you can understand why I'm

scared stupid because if this goes wrong, we... it can't go wrong, ok? It

just can't and I know that's stupid and idealistic and I know you're raising

your eyebrow and your lip is curling and... that's so sad.

The fact that he had actually raised his eyebrow and curled his lip upon reading it the first time made him smile. She knew him well, but it had taken damn near forever for her to figure it out. Sometimes he wondered what she was thinking, or lack thereof.

__

I need to get away from this letter or stop thinking about you. Either works.

Let's put it this way, I don't want to lose you. Ever. You're just as

important, sometimes I think even more important at times, as Tala and Bryan

and you know they're important to me, right? Because you've been with me

forever, in fact you're as important as Joe to me and you, of all people,

will get that. I mean it's Joe and you're Kai.

Don't play with me, ok? If you do, I'll hate you more than anyone in the

world. More than my father- which would sound better if I was still twelve

and extremely bitter towards him... but I actually would hate you! I

wouldn't just be saying it, I would hate you! I'd hate you more than anyone

because scarily enough, I think I love you more than anyone but I'm only

writing it here so don't be expecting grand declarations or anything. I have

to make sure we've chemistry and something more than friendship first

because I don't want things getting confused and then we fallout and I'll

hate you.

Grand declarations or not, Kai could understand her and what she was getting at. Regardless of how she felt, he would be patient and caring and everything that she needed whenever she needed it. He cared about more than even he could comprehend at times. To wake up one day and not see Amber, would be the scariest thing in the world.

__

If you want to kiss me some more, I'd be ok with that but that's up to you.

When I'm ready, then I'll tell you how I feel but the fact that I want you

to kiss me speaks volumes. But you probably got that because you're you and

you know me. So... damnit! Stupid teachers and that stupid bell. Probably

shouldn't write this in class.

Again, Kai quirked his lips at the fact that Amber liked when he kissed her. He snuck another glance down at her sleeping form and restrained himself from wanting to wake her up and kiss her senseless. Ignoring this, he continued reading.

__

Right, I'm going to give this to you first time I see you, possibly. Or

maybe you'll never read this, in any case- no you'll get to read this.

Sometime. I swear it.

I hope that explains things, it's not coherent but neither am I and you're

taking that on if you really care about me. So here's hoping. I adore you

Kai... yeah, I do. Anyways how do you sign off one of these?

Right, just be nice about this and if you decide I'm too much trouble, well

don't break my heart over it or I'll kick your ass and send it to your

parents! NAKED!

-A

(ha-ha, even if you do show this to anyone, I've left this semi anonymous,

:P)

Kai chuckled heartily at the last sentence. Semi-anonymous? More like the story of her life. Not wanting to wake her, he slowly got off the bed, careful not to wake her lest she learn his intentions.

He tore off a piece of lined paper from his notebook and scrawled a note upon it quite legibly as opposed to Amber's penmanship. Holding it in his hand, he re-read it to check for any mechanical errors, '_Semi-anonymous? 'Ember, it's pretty damn obvious you wrote the letter. Tala, Bryan, Joe, need I say more? Ha, this'll look good on the school website_.' Smirking smugly to himself, he walked towards the sleeping female and slipped the piece of paper in her front pants pocket, knowing she had a habit of putting her hands in them. She stirred lightly, weakly opening her eyes to see Kai leaning over her with his immensely deep russet eyes, focused solely on her. She sucked in a breath realizing he may have been watching her the entire time she'd slept.

"Did I snore?" Propping herself on her elbows, she blinked rapidly to chase away the last of any remaining sleep.

The blunette shook his head, cupping her cheek and inching his way closer to her until their noses were almost touching, his lips hovering millimeters from her own.

Amber's tawny eyes dilated as she sensed his intentions, instinctively she closed her eyes as Kai pressed his lips to hers ever so softly. As he nudged her lips open, she rose a hand and placed it on his chest, feeling his heartbeat pulsating beneath her palm.

Kai was slowly overwhelming her senses, causing Amber to sink back into the bed, supported only by the pillows that thankfully lay beneath her, as well as Kai's hand, which had snaked it's way around her somehow to support her back. Golden skin sizzled as Kai's hand gently lifted her school shirt up, the other hand now working it's way up to the base of her neck, pinching slightly. A flurry of nerves erupted, shooting from her neck, down her spine, finally resting in the pit of her belly. She arched against Kai as he continued to massage her spine, all the while kissing her feverously.

They broke apart for air, Kai's ragged breathing tickling Amber's face before she tilted her head upwards in order to kiss him. The latter shifted onto the mattress, now straddling Amber who rolled her eyes at the act.

"Why do boys feel the need to do that?"

Kai ignored her question, choosing instead to kiss her jaw, before biting delicately down into the side of her neck. Amber squirmed at the wave of sensations that coursed through her, running her hands along his sides loving the way he quivered from her touch.

Upon nipping at Amber's earlobe, she simply melted in his arms, loving the feel of the soft, velvety lips caressing her skin so endearingly. She smiled into his shoulder before reversing their positions, now sitting on top of his stomach.

Kai grumbled as he lost contact with her skin. Amber smirked at him, sticking out her tongue in triumph, resisting the urge to cheer. He scowled at her, missing the taste of her already.

As he attempted to lean forwards, she pushed him back down onto the mattress, capturing his parted lips with delight while he merely smirked into her lips as he successfully undid her bra clasp. Amber yelped into his mouth, a muffled sound that he devoured as his hands ran up under her shirt before coming around her front to cup her breasts.

Involuntarily, goose bumps broke out all over Amber's skin as Kai's hands wandered and massaged. Had she not been sitting on him, she would have surely melted into the mattress beneath them. Shaky breathing on both their parts signified their current states of desire. Absently, Kai wondered how far Amber would go before she stopped, hopefully not far enough that what little restraint he had left would break.

A catchy, and entirely feminine sigh of satisfaction escaped Amber's lips as she let Kai roll on top of her, dominating once again. What little sense she had left was nagging at the back of her mind to stop before it went too far, but she was happily compliant with letting Kai's hands and mouth roam over her, as she in turn explored his taut muscles and broad shoulders.

Her breath caught in her throat as Kai nipped at her neck, knowing a bruise would form. She ignored this and captured his lips with hers knowing they should stop before they both did something they would regret.

"We should… stop… ahh, Kai…?"

He brushed her hair away from her neck and left a trail of butterfly kisses. "Mmmhmmn… we probably… should."

Even as he spoke between kisses, she knew if she told him to stop, he would, although it may take a moment or two.

"Kai…" She placed her lips on his earlobe, sucking gently before biting down very gently, distracting him from his ministrations. "We really should… stop…"

He gave an audible sigh as he rolled off her to lay beside her instead, his hand tracing small circles on the side of her arm.

"You sort of make it hard to stop." Dark, brazen eyes locked with shiny ochre.

Amber scrunched her nose before responding, "As if you make it any easier."

It took a lot of willpower for her not to stick out her tongue, knowing Kai would only respond with a 'don't stick that out unless you plan to use it.'

"Glad to know you adore me so much."

"I'm sorry, adore? When did I say that?"

"You wrote it actually, in your _love_ letter to me."

"What love letter?" She banded her arms against her chest, realizing her bra was falling. "Shit!"

She unfolded her arms, stretching one behind her so that she could re-hook her bra lest it fall off completely. Noticing this, Kai decided to help her. He lifted her shirt in order to slide his hands under her top, smugly enjoying Amber's reaction to his touch. His hands slid around to her backside, gently taking hold of the two ends, clasping them together. As he finished, Amber scowled in annoyance, Kai was purposefully running his thumbs along her small breasts, even through the fabric, it had ignited something within her she hadn't known she had.

Not wanting him to revel in his smugness, she jutted her chin before jumping off the bed. "Who wants to adore a perv like you."

"Apparently, you do." He leisurely stretched out his long limbs, exposing fair, white skin.

"Only according to your big head, which probably blinded me."

At her dry remark, Kai merely chuckled. "Only minutes ago, this big head was making out with you."

--

The booming drone of the P.A. system echoed throughout the classroom. Students were ignoring the noise as if it were only a gentle mist and nothing more. Over the rumble and chatter, a teacher sat taking attendance, pausing every so often to glance around the classroom in case total chaos broke out. Study hall was always so menial and time-consuming.

The students in the class would agree hurriedly with the above statement. Study Hall was just a name given to promote knowledge and good work and study habits, although if any work was ever accomplished, it was rushed and half-assed, if not last minute.

In the far back of the classroom, a silver-haired female sat gloomily. Her sullen blue eyes were focused on the figures outside the window, as if showing off their freedom while she was trapped indoors next to Brooklyn. He had been acting weird ever since last night, when he'd confessed his feelings. Sort of.

It was more like an altercation on her part, for not feeling the same way about him as he did for her. Thus, he had kept silent, not uttering a single word to her. He was his regular self to everyone else though, choosing only to ignore her and with good reason on his part.

His mussed, shaggy red hair made him seem even more handsome, as his cobalt eyes stood out all the more stark against his milky, white skin. His full lips were pressed in a firm line, one elbow resting on the table, the other holding his head up as he gazed unwaveringly ahead of him in sheer boredom. He'd long since finished his schoolwork earlier in the day, wanting nothing more than to escape Arista's company, silent as it was.

She'd given up on trying to get him to talk to her, hoping it was just a phase in which he'd stop ignoring her soon. She missed his company, that much she was willing to admit. But it was refreshing not having to be on guard all the time, waiting for him to criticize and gripe at her.

Arista sighed heavily, resting her head on the desk as she closed her eyes. She'd had a restless, agitated sleep last night, nearly singing her hair as she'd lain right next to the fireplace. She'd woken to the site of the tips of her hair hissing as they melted from the fire's heat. Her initial reaction was of confusion, the hell had her hair caught fire?

Recognizing the fireplace to her left, Arista had stumbled backwards, tripping over her jacket and banging her head into the side of the sofa behind her. After much cursing, she'd righted herself while having painfully pulled out her scorched hair.

Thankfully she'd woken in time to spot and startle Ian, who was aimed with a water gun pointing right at her. A cry of outrage sounded shortly after he pulled and pumped the trigger, soaking Arista in the tepid water. Immediately, she'd lunged for the tiny male in the hopes of beating some sense into him only for her plan to be foiled at the sight of Brooklyn, surveying the scene with aversion.

Thus was her predicament; Brooklyn was ignoring her, and she needed to plot her revenge on Ian. His claim for spraying her with water was that he was scared she would catch alight due to her propinquity to the fire.

Absently, she wondered just what it was Brooklyn liked about her. Surely he was just trying to trick her into some sort of public humiliation. After all, she knew he had it in him to be cruel. Maybe him trying to be friends with her had all been a part of it.

Maybe not, she wondered, recounting the many times he'd been gentle and caring to her. Okay, so maybe he genuinely wanted to be friends, but honestly… what was the matter with him? He'd never even hinted that he may find her attractive or even like her romantically.

She sighed heftily and returned to gazing out the window longingly, wanting to be as far from the stoic male seated beside her.

--

In another section of the same classroom, Amber sat scrawling a note onto a small sticky sheet. Wanting to complete her assigned class work, she'd reached into her pants pocket in search of a writing utensil only to find a folded piece of paper. Upon reading it, a heat had crept up her neck.

She'd recognized the neat scrawl as Kai's penmanship. It read '_Semi-anonymous? Ember, it's pretty damn obvious you wrote the letter. Tala, Bryan, Joe, need I say more? Ha, this'll look good on the school website.'_

Tawny eyes searched the classroom for the aforementioned male, upon spotting him, she'd given him a scathing look, signifying her distaste.

In response to his note, she'd written one of her own. _'Kai, if you put that on the site, I swear naked baby pictures will be sent to every fan girl. You sodding prick!'_

Amber nudged Shahero who tossed it in a nonchalant manner to Kai, who upon reading it, responded to it and tossed it back to Amber.

Shahero absently wondered what was going on between the two and made a mental note to ask Amber about it later.

Amber's grin dropped from her face as she read Kai's message; '_Ember, you're in the same naked baby pictures, idiot!_'

"I know your mom!" she proclaimed quietly, her eyes glimmered with mirth.

Kai rolled his eyes and tore off a piece of paper, hastily scribbling his message on it before aiming it at Amber's desk. '_That's nice to know, it'll save me a load of hassle when introducing you to the in-laws.'_

As Amber read the note, her eyes widened fractionally before she shot Kai a dirty look, her cheeks heated from his retort.

'_Inlaws? You egotistical… I hate you!'_ She chucked the scrunched up paper ball at him, enjoying the sound it made as it bounced off his forehead and onto his desk. She turned back to her desk, aimlessly trying to sort through the disarray of her notebooks and binder.

Sudden vibrations in her pants pocket indicated that her phone was vibrating. She discreetly took it out of her pocket and read the text message she'd just received.

'_You don't hate me, Ember, you love me. No, wait, you **ADORE** me. It's better.'_

She typed somewhat heatedly, annoyed by Kai's smugness. '_Conceited jackass! I don't even know what I saw in you!'_

Kai's fingers quietly typed on the keypad of his cell phone as he responded to Amber before putting his cell phone back in his pocket. He drummed his fingers on his desk as he waited for her to respond to him.

The petite Irish girl rolled her amber orbs as her phone vibrated once again, distracting her from her tic-tac-toe game with Shahero causing the latter to win.

Amber opened Kai's message and narrowed her eyes, a small crease visible in her forehead. '_Proves you don't have a legitimate argument. And you consider yourself the daughter of a lawyer. You dad must be so disappointed.'_

'_As I mentioned earlier, I was probably blinded by your **BIG** head.'_ Content with getting the last message, she turned off her phone and stuck out her tongue at Kai, pulling her eye for added emphasis.

After reading her message, he decided it would be a waste to send Amber a text if she'd turned off her phone. Instead he turned back to his studies, trying to focus solely on completing his work. He attention was diverted however, as Amber and Shahero erupted into quiet snickers every now and then. He wondered what they were laughing at and quickly decided it was probably for the better that he didn't know.

--

Several hours later found Brooklyn's arms snaked around a girl as the two sucked face, seated a few feet from Hitoshi and Shahero. The latter who made rude comments towards the couple.

"Would you two like to breathe at some point?"

Distracted, Brooklyn and the girl on his lap ignored Shahero's comment.

She rolled her sapphire eyes and gave Hitoshi a questioning glance. "Isn't he in love with 'Ris?"

Hitoshi hissed for her to be quiet, not wanting the red-head to hear them. "Well, yeah. Naturally, who can resist anyone whose rooming with me?"

At her pointed look he chuckled lightly. "I'm just stating the truth."

"Hitoshi, be serious for once."

"This coming from you, little Hero? I'm shocked, if not appalled."

Underneath the table, Shahero kicked the older teen lightly. "Seriously, what's up with him?"

"She probably doesn't care for him in the same way. Honestly, what did he expect? For her to fall head over heels for him?"

Shahero coughed to cover up her laughter. "Says the idiot who thought the same exact thing."

"Hardy har har. You love me, admit it."

"Not in public," Shahero countered, "is this an attempt on his part to make her jealous? 'Cause I don't think it's working."

The blunette pointed a finger towards the female in question laughing contentedly at something Johnny said.

Hitoshi sighed as he followed Shahero's finger, spotting his cousin and her friends laughing audibly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Brooklyn spotted Arista's cheerful face, content in her current company as she laughed happily, joining in the conversation. Angrily, Brooklyn roughly parted lips with the girl on his lap. He hadn't even bothered to get her name, not caring either way.

He pushed her none-too-gently off his lap, striding out of the cafeteria sourly.

--


	18. The Deepest Grey Part I

**A/N:** I know, I know. You all hate me. I'll take that in stride as you read this and you can convince me of why I shouldn't take nearly a year? Or less, I don't remember how long it's been, before I post something new. This has been rewritten several times, and in the end I just couldn't decide what to do with it so it's split into two parts. Get a move on and start readin'!

-x-

13 Shades of Grey  
Chapter 18: The Deepest Greys; Part I

Arista shoved another spoonful of cereal into her mouth, the metal of the spoon clinked against her teeth. Grumpily, she cursed under her breath before pushing the bowl away from her. Her appetite disappeared every time she saw Brooklyn, his stone blue eyes fixed pointedly on hers as he angled his face whilst making out with yet another girl. It unnerved her that he could be so publicly cruel to the girls who practically worshipped him.

She sighed heartily, her thoughts weighing heavy on her mind as she closed her eyes. Brooklyn hadn't spoken to her since after he'd left her alone in the snow to walk back to the school alone. She figured it had a lot to do with what had happened earlier in the month. Only, she didn't understand why it bugged her so much. After all, she had spent so much time and effort hating him for many a year. Then he'd offered her friendship, to which she'd accepted, albeit cautiously.

After quite some time, she'd gotten used to him, often cuddling up to him when she got cold, or was sick. She missed his friendship sure, and his warmth, but more importantly she missed him just being there. It was like a part of her was missing and she didn't know whether to put up lost signs or just try and get over it. She wanted Brooklyn to talk to her again, she knew that much, but she didn't know what to say to him. What could she say to him? What could she say to him that would result in him wanting to be around her? Or at least acknowledge her existence. She couldn't stand the thought of him hating her enough to not even want to look at her.

Weren't they at least still friends?

Apparently not, or he didn't care enough to want to be friends with her. Miserable and still hungry, she got up from her seat, ignoring the comments of her friends as she strode out of hall, past Brooklyn and his public display of… she didn't even know what to call it, somehow affection just didn't seem to be strong enough of a word.

With a sigh mixed with resolve and anguish, she picked up her pace and all but ran outside, escaping from the crowded school. Shoving open the doors, she blinked wide-eyed and shocked as Kane was knocked backwards, landing flat on his arse.

"How's the weather down there?" she smirked as she offered her his hand, helping him up.

"Just swell!" came the flippant reply.

"Well, you would know, you spend so much time worshipping Spin's shoelaces."

"Hardy-har-har," he dusted himself off before continuing, "what're you doing out here anyways? Shouldn't you be scarfing down food bought with other people's money?"

She shrugged a shoulder. "Not hungry I guess."

"Huh, I think Tyson and Mimi might just start denying that you're part of their kinfolk."

"Aww, did Aspin teach you a new word today?"

Kane gave her a pointed look to which she replied with a chesire grin, her teeth clearly visible.

"What're you doin'?" She asked him, as they fell into a comfortable walk, taking in the slush around them.

"I was just getting a present, our anniversary is coming up."

They had decided to skip the school and were now strolling around the path that led to the back of the school. The puddles of melting snow, unappealing as they were, not bothering them in the least as they ventured to their destination.

"My, my… Suzoro actually remembering something!" She gave a soft chuckle and dodged his playful punch, absently wondering if it was going to rain, and judging by the large amount of clouds that had accumulated, she figured she might as well change into her galoshes once she got to her room.

"I don't know why anyone bothers to put up with you."

"The same can be said for you, smart-ass."

Kane gave a gallic shrug before venturing onto the thawing snow, and stopping near the base of a large ochre tree. Arista followed him with knowing, as he started his way up the tree, comfortably settling himself in on a large branch and waiting for her to follow suit. She stretched out her arms and latched herself onto a branch, working her way up to sit beside him.

"You do realize that you flashed everyone whose awake at this hour." He pointed at her school skirt and jerked a shoulder in the general direction of the dorms, most of them displayed open blinds and windows.

She grunted in response before brightening. "At least my underwear is nice."

A blue brow rose questioningly as he worried about her sanity.

"It is!" She made to hitch up her skirt in order to show him before he gave her a look that made her stop. "What?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Well, it glows in the dark."

"Really?"

"Yeah! It's got spaceships and the rings of Saturn."

"Just the rings of Saturn?"

"I like this pair, hence, I wear them a lot, and that means they get washed just as much, therefore some of the designs have faded."

"And where would one acquire such an amazing pair of panties?"

This time, she rose a brow at him before breaking out in laughter. "Even if Aspin gets a pair, I doubt they'd stay on long enough for you to even notice them in the least."

"That's probably true."

An annoyed groan escaped the females mouth as she punched the male non-too-gently. "Thanks for the mental images, jerk."

"Anytime, 'Ris, anytime."

"So what did you get her anyways?"

"Hrmmn?" Kane was broken out of his daydream about Aspins legs in glow in the dark underwear.

"Anniversary present?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah."

Arista chuckled at him once again as he proceeded to pull a small square shaped jewellery box out of his pants pocket.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"I dunno, that depends. What do you think it is?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I doubt it's an engagement ring."

Kane only nodded in agreement. "So what's your guess?"

"I dunno, a vial of your sperm hanging from a silver chain?"

"What?" He was taken aback by the levity. "Not only is that absurd, it's sort of creepy."

"Did you honestly expect an accurate guess?"

He shrugged, then with an added shake of his head he handed the box to his companion for her inspection. He watched as she opened it, her face lit up excitedly.

"Ooher! They're really pretty!" She plucked one earring delicately out of the box and held it up so she could inspect it.

"You think so?"

"I know so. She'll love these."

The silver earring sparkled in the light as Arista continued to view it, mesmerized as it caught the colours or the rainbow.

She was going to ask if him they were real diamonds before a loud voice bellowed below them.

"Wat'cha got up there?"

Drawn out of her spellbound state, she lost her balance and fell forwards, the earring flew from her hand and she landed with a thud on the ground, a sharp cracking sound piercing her ears and she immediately hissed in pain, knowing she had broken something.

Kane, eyes wide in concern, carefully climbed down to make sure Arista was okay.

"Did you break anything?" His eyes viewed her small form, a few cuts and maybe some bruises had resulted from her fall he noted with regard.

"Are you okay?" A familiar voice sounded, the sound pushing past the loud buzzing in her ears.

She groaned in pain as she tried to sit up, putting her hands out in front of her to steady herself before she yelped and cursed very noisily. Her eyes shut tight as she managed to stand, with the help of Kane and Johnny, whom she realized now was who had shouted up at her earlier. Earlier when her wrist was still intact and not broken as she feared, earlier when she was still sitting comfortably up in the tree.

"Shit! The earrings!" Arista's eyes widened as she searched frantically for the box. Upon spotting the box she breathed a sigh of relief before gasping, realizing there was only one in there.

Grumbling more to herself than anything, she started searching for the other earring ignoring the pain in her right wrist momentarily.

Kane and Johnny, realizing at the same time as she had, started looking for the missing earring with her.

Several minutes later, a triumphant 'aha' was heard from Kane, who picked up the gem and held it tightly in his between his thumb and forefinger before slipping it into the velvet box and pocketing it with great care.

"What a relief." Arista sighed, her eyes now lowering to her hand. A wince of pain ensued as she noticed the swelling and poked at it gently.

"Hey!" Johnny yelled, swatting at her good hand. "Don't do that."

"Doesn't look too good."

"Did you come up with that all by yourself, Einstein?"

"Nope, flame-brain here helped me out."

"Hey! Don't call me that."

"Johnny, shut up."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Stop poking it, you'll only make it worse."

"Quit it!"

"Make me."

"Gladly."

Johnny promptly slipped his arms around Arista and lifted her off the ground, swinging her over his shoulder.

"Put me down!"

"Maybe you should listen to her."

Johnny looked as if he were considering this but ultimately decided not to. "We're off to see the nurse."

Arista pounded at his back with both hands before recoiling as a searing heat shot up and down the length of her arm.

Kane followed behind Johnny, giving Arista a somewhat apprehensive look as he re-evaluated her wrist.

"Johnny if you don't put me down right now, I'll pinch you!"

"Go right ahead." Commented the red-head.

Arista, reaching down with her good hand, pinched the small of his back immediately regretting the decision when Johnny tripped, sending him sprawling to the ground and propelling her head-first into Kane.

All three of them groaned audibly, several swears ringing in the air.

"Fuckin' bloody hell!"

"Ow! Holy flying shit curdles!"

"God fuckin' damnit!" Arista once again found herself being helped up by Kane.

She dusted the wet snow off herself with one hand, the other hand curled into herself, pinpricks of pain shooting through it causing her a grandiose level of discomfort.

Brazen blue eyes rounded on the red-headed male. "What is your problem?"

"My problem? You're the one who refused my help."

"No shit! I'm perfectly capable of standing upright and walking _myself _over to the nurses' office."

"Clearly," he spat out, noticing how Kane was supporting the majority of her weight.

"Ugh!" A cry of pain echoed as she realized that her ankle was probably sprained or twisted.

"Let me help you."

"Help in what way?" She bit out through ground teeth.

Kane and Johnny both rolled their eyes before the latter turned around and bent down, motioning for Arista to get on his back so he could piggy-back her.

Begrudgingly, she obliged and hopped on, relieved as the pressure was taken off her ankle.

"Better?"

"I will be."

"Good."

"Sorry." She rested her head on his shoulder, tired and weary as the throbbing aches in her body failed to relent.

"No need." The red-head grinned as all was well again.

Kane walked alongside the duo, opening the door to allow them entrance into the school.

"So why do you have a box of earrings?" Johnny shifted Arista to support her weight as he carefully started climbing the stairs.

"As opposed to a box of condoms?" Arista inquired genuinely.

Kane rolled his blue eyes. "Do you ever think before you speak?"

"Not if I can help it, I'm more of a say the first thing you can think of sorta person."

"Obviously, so really, the earrings?" Johnny gave Kane a questioning glance. "You planning on getting a new set of piercings?"

"As if, they're a present."

"For me? You shouldn't have." Arista laughed at Johnny's flirty tone of voice.

The blue haired male was getting tired of rolling his eyes. "Good thing I didn't then."

"They're an anniversary present for Aspin." Arista noted before adding, "I wonder what Mimi's getting her."

Both males had a fish out of water look on their faces as they took in the context of Arista's comment.

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

"You mean you didn't know?"

"Know what?" Kane barked, slightly agitated.

"About their secret love affair, which clearly isn't much of a secret, never mind a well kept one at that."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Excuse me? Have you seen the way Mimi picks out an outfit for Aspin? She practically changes her clothes for her in the fitting rooms!"

"Seriously?"

Arista just shrugged her shoulders, mirth shining in her navy orbs as the two males tried to absorb and process the information.

"Oi!" Arista's shrill cry stopped Johnny in his tracks, he was about a foot away from walking straight into the door. "I might not think before I speak _sometimes_, but at least I watch where I'm going."

She stepped down, warily testing out her ankle before opening the door and walking straight into something very, very solid.

Or rather someone, she noted, as a pair of strong hands grabbed her hands and held her upright. She winced and writhed in the grip of the male in front of her, who only tightened his grip on her hands as she stumbled backwards.

"Good job at watching where you're going there 'Ris."

"What?" Brooklyn's hoarse voice broke Arista out of her pain-induced state of blearily shut eyes and before she knew it, she was falling to the ground yet again that day.

Upon realizing it was Arista he was steadying, Brooklyn had shoved her away from him, releasing her hands as if they were poison. He didn't know about her ankle, and therefore didn't think much of it when she fell backwards.

"Augh!"

Hot, wet tears stung her eyelids and then rolled down her cheeks regardless of how tightly she shut her eyes. With a resigned sigh, she held up her hand surveying her wrist through hazy eyes as tears continued to blur her vision, her hand was hanging loosely from the rest of her arm at an odd angle. The ache in her ankle was spreading to her lower leg, and she whimpered as she saw the size of the swell. Looking up she cursed her luck as she locked onto bottle green eyes.

"Oh great, the bane of my existence." She stood up flinching as she put weight on her bad ankle, and then hobbled over to the door, clinging onto the door handle for dear life before she felt her body give way, falling, again. Reaching out, she grabbed onto Brooklyn's sleeve with her good hand but a thud signified that she was once again spread-eagle on the floor.

"What's the matter with you?"

Brooklyn jerked his head away from the small female in front of him to meet angry indigo eyes belonging to one very pissed off Scotsman. Kane was already by Arista's side, trying to help her up. Noticing the flicker of movement near his feet, Brooklyn tore his eyes away from Johnny to Kane and then rested them upon Arista.

The tears fell freely now from her navy eyes, she hissed in pain continuously as Kane helped her to a standing position. She hopped forwards one step before meeting Brooklyn's eyes again and before she knew she was swept up into his arms and led away from her comrades, bridal style.

Long legs strode generously so they could reach the nurses' office quickly. In a mere matter of seconds, Brooklyn was knocking repeatedly on the door before it opened and revealed the medical practitioner.

Without bothering to be invited in, he simply sidestepped the nurse and entered the room, carefully placing Arista on the examination bed. Turning to go, he was shocked when Arista's small hand found his and squeezed it softly, pulling him back beside her. His chest constricted slightly as the electricity shot through his fingers, jolting through his veins and resting in his gut.

Timid nearly pleading blue eyes met soft green ones, Brooklyn nodded his head, blinked slowly and squeezed her hand soothingly. He would stay with her while she was assessed of her injuries.

The small smile she offered tugged at his heartstrings as he tried to keep his face blank. Why was it that she had such a great effect on him by just the simplest of actions. He wiped the remaining tears away from her eyes with the pad of his thumb and sat down beside her. She took a shuddering breath and held out her hand to the nurse so she could inspect it.

-x-

Two and a half hours and several diagnoses' later, Brooklyn was carrying a now bandaged and plastered Arista to his dorm. She was already sound asleep in his arms, the pain-killers she had had earlier having taken effect almost immediately.

Brooklyn viewed her now peaceful expression and compared it to the painful and fragile one she'd displayed before, instantly favouring this one. He nudged the door to his room open and stepped inside the dark room. His blinds were closed, he mused. After tenderly placing Arista on his bed, he opened the blinds and let the sunshine pool in.

He very slowly walked back to Arista, sitting down beside her so he could pull the blanket and the comforter over her nimble form, encasing her in warmth. He lay down tiredly on the other side of the bed and watched her, tracing his fingers along her arm, trailing them down to her cast and then linking them with her fingers.

He closed his eyes, resting them for just a second. He was sorry that he had made her injuries worse, he hadn't meant to. Hell if he'd known, he would've held onto her tighter.

The look in her eyes when she'd first spotted him had been a mixture of fear and nervousness, it had shocked him to say the least.

Since when was she scared of him? He didn't even kill flies let alone bother to swat at bees as they buzzed around him, so why the look? Her being nervous was a given, he hadn't spoken a word to her for nearly three weeks now. Probably more, he had lost count.

Why was she scared of him? What did she think he would do? He fingered her palm, tracing his initials into the soft skin and wondered why she'd reacted the way she had.

The sudden sound of movement made him open his eyes, languidly he surveyed Arista again, watching her as she settled into the covers, turning to her side and releasing her hand from his. She groaned a little and then sighed before nestling into his pillow.

Brooklyn's hand was cold, the warmth of her hand no longer seeping into him. He frowned and turned onto his stomach, burying his face into the comfort of his pillow.

It took him awhile but he eventually fell asleep listening to Arista's even, quiet breathing.

He slept dreamlessly for nearly three hours before a rustling of sheets woke him from his slumber.

Arista was practically lying on top of him now, her head in between his neck and shoulder, one of her arms on his chest, one of her legs on his stomach, the other underneath his and her other arm resting on the exposed area of skin on his hips and stomach. He groaned at the compromising position and decided on whether or not he should move her. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he slipped the covers down and off their bodies.

Her t-shirt had ridden up exposing her stomach, he traced the outline with his fingertips, trailing down her skirt before gently moving her knee off of his gut. The release of the pressure on his stomach was instantly welcomed by him and he regained some control over his vastly wandering thoughts.

Just as he was about to remove her hand from his hip, she stirred slightly, sweeping her hand over his navel before she yawned and stretched, only to resume her former position, blinking very tiredly, trying to wake herself up.

In a split second, Brooklyn had carefully flipped her onto her back, pinning her arms above her head.

She mumbled something incoherently and blinked several times, trying to take in her surroundings and not being able to. Brooklyn was nearly hovering over her, trying to read her expression as she regained some semblance of her senses.

"Hi," the hoarse voice was barely above a whisper as she looked up into grassy green eyes.

"Hnn."

Arista took a deep breath and then blew out slowly, her lungs aching as if defying her, her breathing rights. The pain in her wrist was now a dull throb as a result of the painkillers she had swallowed earlier. How long ago had that been she wondered absently, closing her eyes.

She sighed heavily, wincing a little as again, her lungs tensed up despite her efforts. She was so tired and hungry and thirsty she could eat a water buffalo! Or have it fed to her through a tube. Why were they called that anyways? A vague remembrance of the fact that they could tread water invaded her thoughts. Oh sweet water, how she longed for it.

"Mmmn," she licked her lips and swallowed thickly only to be interrupted from her daze of buffalos as goose-bumps formed along her arms. Brooklyn was now lying atop her causing her face to flush a light red. He looked up at her slowly, noticing her eyes were closed.

His lips hovered mere centimetres above hers and he contemplated very seriously about whether or not to kiss her.

Arista's eyes opened slowly not really wanting to deal with the current predicament, the navy depths were amplified by her wide-eyed, deer in the headlights expression. Her mouth opened forming a small 'o' as she read the intention in his green, green eyes. She pursed her lips and attempted to move him away from her but ultimately failed as he resisted with ease and then pinned her hands by her sides.

The hunger in his eyes wavered, as if he was trying to restrain himself from ravishing her. Arista frowned up at him, not liking her freedom being restricted and bucked under him in irritation. Brooklyn's eyes were a blue-green colour now, she noticed, upon locking eyes with him once more. The anger in her own eyes shimmered beneath the surface as she squirmed and struggled to free herself from his grip.

After ignoring her for the better half of the month, he had the nerve to kiss her! Well, almost kiss her. Still!

He wondered vaguely if he should tighten his grip a teensy-tiny bit just to bug her but then reconsidered seeing as how her wrist was already broken. Loosening it a little, he released one arm but kept the other pinned before repositioning himself half beside her, half on top of her as she had slept earlier.

Arista mumbled angrily and tried to pull her shirt down but he only stopped her movements by bringing her hand to his lips and kissing each one of the knuckles with great attention and care. She withdrew her hand immediately, blushing abundantly and inhaled sharply, a disconcerting line forming on her lips.

Sensing her agitation and discomfort, he placed his hand on the exposed skin just above the hemline of her skirt, loving the way she trembled and shivered beneath him as his fingers drew cursive letters on the skin.

"How's your wrist?"

"You're holding on to it, how do you think it is?"

"And your ankle?"

A shudder resulted from Brooklyn's ministrations on her skin. "Just guess."

"Hmmn." He kissed her neck.

She noisily exhaled, resisting the urge to head butt Brooklyn, he was a damn bugger she deliberated.

"Why are you talking to me?" Aha! She had distracted his mouth away from her skin. "I had the distinct feeling of loathing from you that clearly stated you had no intention to ever speak to me again."

Taking the opportunity to do so, she sifted so her head was leaning against the headboard. Slyly, she moved Brooklyn's hand off her waist and pulled her shirt down as much as she could with one hand. He fixed his stare away from her inexorable eyes, resting his head just below her chest and sighing wearily. He really didn't want to talk about it.

"Did you know that you snore?" Her chest rose and fell just a little bit faster than it had before.

"Am I supposed to be offended by that? Cause you know, you could try a bit harder."

"It's louder than Hitoshi's." She sucked in a breath and he felt the resonance within her rib cage.

"Gadzooks, I'd better join the circus and put myself up on display in their freak show."

"I was just mentioning that he's pretty loud." He noticed how she tensed under him, a clear sign of percolating anger just itching to get out.

"Thanks for the compliments, really, it means a lot to me. Actually, you know what? I'll take it into consideration that I snore at such a volume that those around me feel the need to tell me about in in case I ever decide to get married and sleep¾"

Her testy replies made him narrow his eyes and he interrupted her before she had the chance to ramble on, "Would you rather I not talk to you?"

"No!" It was louder than she had wanted it to be, "But you've been avoiding me like the Bubonic Plague and pretending I don't exist whenever you're in the same room as me for the past few weeks."

"Arista," he stopped abruptly before carefully choosing his words lest he pour out his heart and spill his guts, "it's pretty stupid of you if you don't seem to know why."

She opened her mouth and then shut it tightly before taking a breath. "You're the one who walked away without explaining anything, you're the one who won't talk to me, you're the one whose given me every reason under the goddamn moon to question your motives! What am I supposed to do? I can't begin to figure you out and then you go off and won't even speak to me."

"I just can't be around you… at least not for awhile."

She rose a brow at the pathetic excuse and gestured with her hands at the very apparent lack of space between them.

The stern look he sent her did nothing to better the situation and she huffed in anger at the lack of resolve.

"How can I fix it when you won't talk to me?"

"We're talking right now."

"I'm talking, you're just supplying adequate amounts of words that barely form sentences that only serve to state the obvious."

"I don't _want_ to be around you right now. I just don't want¾

"I guess it's pretty selfish of me to still want to be your friend then, huh." It was more of a statement than a question, her tone of voice betrayed the brusqueness of her words.

Gently, she moved his head and sat upright beside him, raking a hand through her tousled hair. Removing the elastic on her wrist, she gathered her hair to pull it into a ponytail, not caring that it was tangled.

He opened his mouth and then closed it. Who was he to convince her of something she obviously had no clue about.

It was rather redundant to tell her that he couldn't be around her without wanting to kiss her. A saddened expression claimed him as he watched her pull a sweater up from the ground ignoring him as he tried to help her get it over her head. She jerked her shoulders away from him and pulled the large sweater over her torso. Searching for her shoes now, she scouted the ground and sighed as she spotted them on the opposite side of the bed from her.

"Belle… I didn't mean it to sound the way that it did, but you have to understand¾"

"Save it. As far as I'm concerned, you've made it pretty clear you don't want to be anywhere near me."

Irately, she climbed over Brooklyn and all but fell off the bed, not realizing that she had reached the end of it, still ignoring him as he tried to help her up. She really didn't want to get up, as her body was still inebriated and unsteady from the medication she'd taken earlier. Arista folded her legs Indian style before resting her elbows on her knees taking a few very deep breaths.

"I don't want you to hate me."

A dagger sliced his insides, his gut churning with a mixture of shock, exasperation, and longing. He raked his hands through his hair not knowing what to do and before he knew it, she had clamboured to her feet, tentatively hopping to the door and exiting the dorm, her shoes in her hands.

Brooklyn sat on his bed for what seemed an eternity, recollecting his memories from the past few months, and then decided that he valued Belle. A lot. To lose her friendship or to refuse her his, was simply idiotic. He cared about her more than he had ever cared about anyone. That alone said plenty.

A sigh resounded deep within his lungs and he pulled on his jacket, shoving his hands into the pockets before leaving his room and walking down the hallway at a leisurely pace. Assuming she even wanted to hear anything he had to say, he would talk to her and get her to understand the irrational way in which she thought, which simply put was just her jumping to conclusions.

The hallway ended and just as he was about to take the stairs to the ground level, he stopped, curiosity etched into his eyes. He cocked his head to the side, walking very slowly towards the being of his affections.

Just as he was about to tap her shoulder, she spun around, as if sensing his presence. Wide eyes quickly narrowed with a quiet anger. Not ready to meet her loaded gaze just yet, he turned his attention to the blade sticking out of her cast.

"What are you doing?" Very nearly yanking her hand away from her cast, he examined it thoroughly. "Why is there a knife in your cast?"

Arista just as quickly pulled her arm out of his grasp, making to shove him away but he held onto her arm with vigour, steadying her in place.

"Let go of me!" she struggled against him with her other arm. "We're not friends so you have no right to-"

Brooklyn disdainfully met her eyes and gave her look that quieted her from saying anything else.

"Belle, why is there a knife sticking out of your cast?"

"To get out the lead."

"And why is there lead in there?"

"To get out the toothpick."

"Should I even bother to ask why?"

"No, so kindly go die in ditch."

He sighed, so it was back to bickering he noted, and waited for her to explain while he meticulously removed the blade from her cast, being exceptionally careful not to cut her.

"Hey! Didn't I just say I needed that?"

Brooklyn ignored her and led her to the common room, seating her down beside him on a large couch.

"Why did you decide to put a toothpick into your cast?"

His tone of voice was sincere in wanting to get an honest answer from her and she obliged him much to the protest of her better judgement. "Do you know how much it itches under there? I didn't even realize it until I stopped to scratch it, and then there being a cast and all on my arm doesn't help me not want to scratch at it. A toothpick is small and sharp, but it got stuck and I couldn't get it out, so I was using a pencil to get it out but the lead at the end of it broke and Shahero keeps telling me about lead poisoning and how bad it is for you, so I wanted to get it out. Thus the blade, which you now have."

"You don't want lead poisoning but you don't care at all about ink poisoning."

"It's harder to draw on skin with pencils."

"Apparently."

Meekly, she looked up at him, waited until his eyes met hers. "Can I have it back?"

"Of course not," he stated it so matter-of-factly that she rolled her eyes.

"Pretty please?"

Brooklyn narrowed his eyes, lips set in a firm scowl. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Patronize me when I'm trying to help you."

"Because you treat me like a kid who got separated from her parents at a family gathering at their own house."

How could he word it so that it sounded nicer… "Have you ever stopped to think about the things you do and how they might affect others?"

"You're opinion doesn't count, we're not even friends from what I gather."

"Here we go again." It was more of a mutter than anything, but it was loud enough for her to hear.

"What is your problem?"

Somehow mentioning that she herself was his problem just didn't seem like it carried enough weight anymore and so he waited for her to continue on.

"You asked to be friends, not me. I was perfectly fine avoiding you for the entirety of your life's existence. I figured, it wouldn't be much of a change to tolerate you, so great, we're friends now." She jabbed her finger into his shoulder, anger smouldering in her dark blue eyes and she continued, "but it turns out you're actually a decent person and a pretty good friend… until you don't get what you want… I seriously can't believe that you're just going to ignore me because I won't jump into bed with you, you're an idiot if¾"

"Belle, shut up!"

Despite the obvious anger in his voice, he gently pushed her to the opposite side of the couch, Arista growled at his response but kept quiet nonetheless. His actions and his thoughts showed such a grand contrast, and for a second she pondered over this.

"Do you always assume the worst?"

"No, but it's pretty obvious when I see it, I mean, come on, why else can't you be around me?" The confusion in her voice faded only to be replaced with sarcasm. "I usually bathe monthly, sometimes more than once every two weeks but aside from¾"

"Belle, I like you. A lot. I don't understand why you're the only person who can't see that, but I do."

_In fact, I'm pretty much in love with you._

Arista tilted her head to the side and opened her mouth, eyes wide with disbelief. After having convinced herself that he was just toying with her for to fulfill some sort of personal vendetta he had against her, she realized that she was probably most definitely wrong.

The sincerity, let alone the intensity of his green eyes was almost too much for her to take in and she blushed profusely as he continued to look at her. He leaned in towards her and cupped her cheeks with his hands, never breaking eye contact, tenderly running the pads of his thumbs against her lips before he gently covered them with his. Her already parted lips were all the invitation he needed to explore the sweet cavern of her mouth. His tongue glided smoothly and softly against hers, the soothing kiss lulled Arista into his touch but he didn't progress any further and instead pulled away from her little by little until he was met with her wide blue eyes.

"I love you."

And with that, he got up and walked away, leaving her speechless as she tried to process what had happened.

His reasoning for not wanting to speak to her was that he loved her. How was that sensical? Anger was scorching her train of thought and it ended abruptly as she wearily staggered after him, spotting him heading towards the exit for the stairs. She decided to give it one last go before she admitted defeat.

"Hey!"

Brooklyn ignored her, wanting desperately to get away from her. He wasn't ready to face her, hell, his brain was still processing if he had really just admitted his feelings for her. He needed space to think, a space in which she wasn't present so that he wasn't suffocated by her mere audience.

"Wait!" She yelled after him, and realizing he wouldn't stop, she picked up her pace, nearly colliding with him in the stairwell.

Brooklyn's face was clear and void of any emotions, his mask perfectly in place as he blanked himself off.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe you?" She struggled just a little bit to catch her breath, a pain shooting up from her ankle to her hip. "I mean come on, you love me, but you can't stand to be around me… Honestly? That's just pathetic. Couldn't you come up with something a little more plausible?"

The red-head sighed with seemingly never-ending despair once more and turned to face her. "Arista, do you not understand your stupidity? I simply cannot understand how you can't seem to fathom anything that goes on around you… Honestly? You're pathetic. Does everything need to be spelled out for you? Can you not comprehend anything on your own?"

Arista was taken back by the harsh comments and frowned, this was very much unlike him, his reaction was definitely not anything she would have thought it to be and she bit her tongue because despite herself, his words stung her deeply.

"Great, now you can openly hate me and not have to spare my feelings with your load of crap."

She gave him one last withering look before she decided to leave. "I hope you have a nice life, Dicklyn."

-x-


End file.
